Police arrest man over hammer and knife robberies in east Belfast
Detectives are appealing for information after an armed robbery in east Belfast on Friday.
It happened at about 7pm on the Newtownards Road – and may be linked to an earlier robbery on the same road that day.
The man entered the shop with a hammer, demanded that a worker give him money, before damaging the till.
He made off towards the city with a sum of cash.
The suspect is described as approximately 6ft tall, and wearing an orange / red face covering.
The PSNI said: "Our enquiries are underway and anyone who saw a man matching this description, or who captured CCTV or dash-cam footage in the area at the relevant time, is asked to contact 101, quoting reference number 1506 15/11/24.
“We are investigating a potential link between this robbery and an earlier report that shortly before 7am on Friday morning a masked man had entered a shop on the Newtownards Road and threatened a male staff member with a knife.”
In that case, a staff member was ordered to hand over a sum of cash and cigarettes before the suspect left the shop on foot in the direction of the city centre.
That suspect was described as being approximately 6ft tall, of medium build, and was wearing a hooded top.
The PSNI said: "A report can be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.”