

Codi Wilson, CP24.com





Police are searching for a suspect wanted in connection with a violent gas station robbery that left an employee with a fractured skull.

Police say the robbery occurred at around 4 a.m. on June 13 at a gas station near Sherbourne and Front streets.

According to police, the suspect entered the gas station armed with a knife, jumped over the counter, and ordered the employee to open the cash drawer.

The employee complied with the suspect’s demands.

Investigators say the suspect ordered the victim to get down on the ground and the victim once again did what he was told.

"The suspect emptied the cash drawer of all of the bills and coins, placing the money in his hoodie pocket and then unprovoked and entirely without cause violently stomped on the victim’s head four times," Hold Up Squad Insp. Lauren Pogue said during a news conference on Wednesday morning.

Pogue said the suspect then jumped back over the counter and exited the gas station, leaving the victim unconscious on the floor.

The victim, who was later found by another customer who entered the gas station, was taken to hospital to be treated for very serious injuries.

Police say the victim’s skull and orbital bone were fractured during the attack.

He is currently receiving treatment at a rebab hospital and is expected to be there for several weeks, Pogue said.

"This victim is just a hard-working individual who was working the night shift trying to put himself through school," she said. "The level of violence seen in this particular robbery is extremely disturbing."

Police have now released video surveillance footage of the incident and are asking anyone who recognizes the suspect to contact investigators.

The suspect was described by police as a black male who is between five-foot-eight and five-foot-ten and has a thin, muscular, athletic build.

At the time of the robbery, police say the man was wearing a dark-coloured hoodie with a silver zipper up the front, a dark ball cap, and black Converse sneakers.

Anyone with information about the attack can contact the Hold Up Squad or Crime Stoppers anonymously.