Clerk sprayed with fire extinguisher as group of juveniles rob Canton tobacco shop

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A late-night robbery at a Canton tobacco shop left a clerk shaken after three juveniles allegedly attacked her with a fire extinguisher and stole from the store.

The robbery happened at Prime Tobacco in Canton on Monday around 9 p.m. Police audio captured the clerk screaming as officers were dispatched.

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The clerk, who did not want to go on camera, said three juveniles came into the store carrying rocks, sprayed her in the face with a fire extinguisher and robbed the business. Baltimore police responded.

The clerk said the oldest suspect was possibly 14-years-old and the youngest was less than 10-years-old. She also said it was not the first time they targeted her, telling FOX45 News the same group robbed the store about an hour earlier, around 8 p.m., and she called police then.

A father in the area, who said he has a young child, was surprised at the ages involved.

“My son, they don’t do stuff like that. He’s eight…so it is kind of surprising that they don’t have enough supervision that they are free to just kind of roam like that because that’s not how me and the folks that I know raise our children,” he said.

The robbery comes less than a week after Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley spoke out against ongoing juvenile crime.

“So far this year, Baltimore police have increased our juvenile arrest, which isn’t the right way that we want things to go. We are seeing concerning trends involving young people in serious crimes,” Worley said.

He added, “Parents and guardians play probably the most critical role in shaping the decisions young people make.”

No arrests have been made in the double robbery.

The clerk said she was not seriously hurt, despite being sprayed in the face with the fire extinguisher.

The suspects were last seen running toward Patterson Park.