Man in Michael Myers mask robs Scotia gas station

PHOTOGRAPHER: Shutterstock Image

A Michael Myers mask from John Carpenter's "Halloween" movie franchise.

Share on Facebook

Save

SCOTIA — A man wearing a Michael Myers mask robbed a village gas station at gunpoint Sunday night, police said.

The incident happened about 10:30 p.m. at the Scotia Citgo, 184 Sacandaga Road, when a man wearing the Halloween mask demanded cash and a particular pack of cigarettes from the lone clerk, police said.

No one else was in the store at the time.

After getting the cigarettes, the suspect fled the store and was last seen on foot southbound on Sacandaga Road near Seeley Street, police said.

The clerk was unharmed.

Store owner Ankur Purani said he is thankful his clerk was not injured.

He recounted the odd scene surrounding the cigarette demand. The suspect requested a particular pack of cigarettes.

The clerk inadvertently handed over a different kind of cigarettes. The suspect then demanded the right kind, got them and fled with the cash from the register.

“Who would want to wait for a pack of cigarettes?” Purani asked.

Purani has owned the station for about a year. It’s undergoing remodeling and the cameras were inadvertently not recording at the time.

His family has owned a similar station in Greene County for decades, he said.

“We’ve been doing this for 40 years at other stores and never had a store robbed at gunpoint,” Purani said.

Police described the suspect as having a Hispanic accent, blue eyes and standing about 5 feet, 10 inches tall. He wore the mask, a baggy blue hooded sweatshirt, blue pants and gloves.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Scotia police at 518-374-3110, ext. 6.