Update on Irving Supermarket Robbery

[TexasStooge]

Supermarket gunmen elude police dragnet

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

IRVING, Texas — Two Irving supermarket employees escaped with their lives after armed robbers tied them up early Thursday.

Police spokesman David Tull said the suspects entered the Carnival Food Store at Grauwyler and Nursery roads around daybreak, before the supermarket opened for business.

One of the employees managed to slip out of the bonds and call 911 for help around 6:30 a.m. Police helped both escape safely, leaving the gunmen apparently alone inside the store.

The store employees were shaken, but unhurt.

Tull said police and special-tactics officers surrounded the store and conducted an exhaustive search of its interior and roof.

"The building is secure; there's no suspects found inside," Tull said. "At this point, we're uncertain if there was anything taken in this robbery."

He said the store employees had been restrained for at least 20 minutes before they could summon help. That may have given the gunmen a window of opportunity to escape.

More than two dozen police cars ringed the shopping center while police conducted their investigation. Other businesses and residents in the neighborhood near Texas Stadium were affected by the operation.

Carnival, a subsidiary of Minyard Food Stores, has 25 locations in North Texas and caters to Hispanic customers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.