Police need help to find alleged Subway robber

A Sunday afternoon robbery left a Johnson Avenue restaurant employee shaken up and police looking for a man they believe did the shaking.

Police say a man walked into the Subway restaurant at 3526 Johnson Ave. just before 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, demanding the 24-year-old worker to hand over money. When the worker refused, the man reportedly put his hand inside his shirt to simulate he had a gun, telling the younger man that was indeed what he was hiding. 

With that, the perp reportedly jumped over the counter, opened the cash register, and removed approximately $1,500. 

He then ran south from the store, leaving the employee physically unharmed at least. 

Police say the suspect is a white male in his 40s, 5-foot-10, last seen wearing a black cap, a gray shirt, gray and black camouflage shorts, and black clogs.

Anyone with information is asked to call the New York Police Department's Crime Stoppers hotline at (800) 577-8477. Tips also can be submitted online at the Crime Stoppers website at NYPDCrimeStoppers.com, or by texting tips to 274637, and then entering "TIP577."

All calls, police say, are strictly confidential. 

This robbery appears to be the latest in a string of recent crimes where a perpetrator demanded money while claiming to have a gun. It's not clear if this rash of robberies are related. 

A man, said to be in his 50s and holding a brown bag which he claimed had a gun, walked into the Kidville after-school program on West 235th Street around the same time the previous week, demanding money and took off with more than $100. That happened not long after the Burger King on Broadway had been robbed in a similar fashion.

Police have released a photo of the alleged Subway robber, as well as a video that can be found here.