By Gabriel Middaugh

An man attempted to steal money from the Domino’s Pizza at 515 National Rd. West, near the Earlham College campus, last Saturday, March 27 at approximately 8:50 p.m. No one was injured and no money was stolen, but the assailant is still at large.

Samantha Perry, an employee who was working Saturday night, recounted what happened.

Perry said that the manager of Domino’s was on the phone with a customer when the robber walked into the store. She greeted the man as if he was any customer.

After asking what she could do for him, the man looked up, had his shirt held up over his mouth and then mumbled something that she could not understand. Perry said she “thought that the man was sick and was trying not to breathe on anyone.”

The third employee, a delivery driver, had walked into the store around the same time and saw Perry having trouble communicating with this man.

“I kept asking what he was saying. Then I saw he had his hand covered up by his jacket. It looked like he might have been holding a gun.”

Before the delivery driver noticed what was going on he asked the robber if he had an order to pick up.

The man then said, “Give me all your money.”

“We both just froze,” Perry said.

At that point the manager entered the situation, refusing to give the man any money and telling him to leave the store. The man stayed put.

“My manager told me to dial 911, but I couldn’t,” Perry said. “I’m not getting shot to dial 911.”

After she refused to call, the manager pretended to call the police and the man left Domino’s without anyone getting harmed. In addition to employees’ continued safety, the store’s registers were untouched.

After what Perry said was 15 minutes, the manager called his district manager, who instructed him to call the police. The police arrived only a few minutes later.

Perry and her co-workers remained at the store for the rest of the night. She said she was so “scared and numb” that when she “tried talking to customers [she] just couldn’t.”

No one was hurt, and the robber did not react in a hostile way when he was not given the money.

After arriving at the scene, police notified Earlham, at which point the college sent automated alerts to students’ cell phones at 9:05 p.m. Messages were delivered via text message and e-mail no later then 9:06 p.m.

The description of the man through the school’s alert system differed a little from how Perry described him by two details. She said the man had a large mark on his nose that “looked like a scratch” and she described him wearing a “rain jacket” instead of a flannel shirt, as said in the school alerts.

Groups who were gathered at campus houses for Saturday night parties were making a large effort to instruct those roaming outside to pay attention to their surroundings and stay indoors when possible.

Some people were trying to make light of the situation by taking pictures of every student with flannel on, whether they were male or not. Nonetheless, the overall attitude was to take the event seriously and to look out for one another.

The local police continue to patrol the area and look for someone who fits the description. Despite Saturday’s event, Domino’s Pizza is still in business.

The e-mail sent by Nelson Bingham and the Alert Notification System read: “An armed robbery occurred at approximately 8:50 p.m. tonight, Saturday, March 27, at Domino’s Pizza located near Earlham’s Campus. The white male suspect fled on foot, heading west. He was wearing a light colored flannel shirt, ball cap, and had medium length hair. You are advised to stay indoors until further notice. All campus residents are advised to keep your doors and windows locked.”

As of Sunday morning, students were advised through automated phone-calls that, “It is believed that the suspect involved in the attempted armed robbery of Domino’s Pizza earlier this evening is now out of the area. You should remain alert, travel in groups, and remember to keep your windows and doors locked.”