Local law enforcement is looking for two people who entered the Smoke Rings Smokeshop on Shanks Road, Tonawanda Indian Reservation, shortly after 2:30 a.m. and attempted to rob it.
Employees fought back, and although the suspects managed to escape, leaving one employee with cuts on his head caused by the butt of the suspect's rifle, the melee helped produce some evidence investigators hope will lead to an arrest.
Including the face of a suspect exposed for the closed-circuit cameras in the store.
The suspects are described as a white female and white male. Both came in wearing camouflage-colored clothing, face masks and carrying guns, according to Sheriff's Investigator Kris Kautz.
In the struggle, the white male also lost the red wig he was wearing. Kautz recovered both the mask and wig during his investigation at the scene.
An employee who was injured was transported to an area hospital and required stitches, but the injuries were not life threatening.
When the would-be robbers entered, they grabbed one employee and took him to a back room and tried to restrain him with plastic ties. He managed to escape. The perpetrators did not realize another employee was in the store, apparently. A struggle then ensued. The female suspect fled immediately, but the male fought and was subdued. He was restrained in a back room while awaiting the arrival of law enforcement but managed to escape through a back window.
It's believed he managed to go to a get-away vehicle, possibly a white or light-colored or small SUV, such as an Equinox or Trail Blazer.
The would-be robbers left empty-handed.
