(Scypre.com) – A cashier at a gas station near Seattle endured a brutal assault during a robbery and recounted that the young male culprits seemed to find amusement in their violent actions.
Leah Johnston, the victim, expressed her harrowing experience to FOX13, revealing, “They were laughing. They had no regard for anything.” The distressing incident occurred on a Friday night at the Friendly Normandy Market in Normandy Park, Washington.
Surveillance footage captured one of the assailants repeatedly striking Johnston in the head and neck, followed by a knee blow to her stomach, while five others pillaged the store. “I told him, ‘You can stop hitting me. I’m not fighting you,'” recounted Johnston. “It didn’t slow him down though.”
In a moment of vulnerability, Johnston fell to the floor, and the assailant delivered a kick before the group hastily fled. Johnston mentioned that they escaped with less than $100 in cash, along with handfuls of candy and merchandise from the cigarette case. She informed KOMO News that she sensed danger the moment six young men, dressed in all black with masks, walked into the store.
“When I saw them come through the door with the masks and what not, I had a feeling something was going to happen, and I mentally prepared myself to be robbed,” she recounted. “I was not prepared to be attacked.”
All six suspects fled in stolen vehicles, a Kia and a Hyundai, according to local law enforcement. Although both vehicles were eventually located, the suspects remain at large.
Expressing her dismay, Johnston remarked, “Kids don’t seem to fear anything anymore… There’s like, no repercussions for them the way there used to be.” Normandy Park, a small city just south of Seattle, had two reported robberies in 2022, according to the annual crime report from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.
Johnston shared that the emotional toll surpassed the physical injuries following the assault. While taking time off from work to recover, she emphasized her determination to persevere: “I’m not going to let them win. I like this community. I like the people, and I love my job.”
The store’s owner, as reported by KOMO News, affirmed plans to enhance safety precautions, including bolstering staff during night shifts.