Akron police are investigating the possibility that two robberies in Akron on Wednesday are linked.
Just after 4 p.m. a man walked into the Carnegie Pantry on Carnegie Avenue, pointed a gun at the clerk and demanded money from the register.
When the clerk handed the suspect money, he also demanded all the Newport cigarettes.
Then, just before 5 p.m., a man walked into the Images of You Beauty Shop on Jefferson Avenue through the back door armed with a handgun and told everyone to get on the floor. He demanded their purses and stole five of them, according to witnesses.
"He said, 'Give me your purses, get down', and one of my clients said, 'Is this for real?', because it happened so quick," owner Kwame Malone told newsnet5.com. "We could not believe this was happening in broad daylight."
"I was just hoping that he didn't shoot anybody," said employee Felicia Gadson. "I was like, 'Oh Lord, please don't let him shoot nobody.'"
The suspect is described as a black man, approximately 5-foot-5 to 5-foot 8-inches tall. He weighs between 250 and 300 pounds and was wearing a blue bandana covering his face, a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants with a white stripe down the side and black gloves.
Lt. Rick Edwards said the description of the suspect also matches the man who robbed West Side Coney Island on restaurant on Storer Avenue August 20.
He could be driving an older model, gray Pontiac Grand Am with tinted windows.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the detective bureau at (330) 375-2490.
