‘I was sh*tting myself’: Alleged armed robbers hit CBD shop

A shop assistant has relived a terrifying encounter with alleged armed thieves who demanded cash at knifepoint in one of two armed robberies in the Cairns CBD.

A CAIRNS shop assistant has relived a terrifying encounter with alleged armed thieves who demanded cash at knifepoint in one of two armed robberies in the Cairns CBD on Tuesday.

At 3.45pm four alleged thieves made off with replica firearms after demanding an 18-year-old shop assistant empty the cash register at the Oz Blasters Lake St outlet.

One man pulled a knife from his pocket before making demands of a terrified Jarred Lyons.

“I was sh*tting myself,” he said.

“I gave one of the guys a demonstration of one of those pistols before they actually (all) came in and he held the gun to my head.

“A lot of things are just going through my mind. What should I do?”

Mr Lyons refused to hand over cash and the men fled the store on foot after allegedly stealing two gel blaster pistols.

“He was walking around saying give me your f**king money and I just said ‘nah’,” he said.

Mr Lyons said three of the alleged robbers were over 6ft tall and one was chroming with a Rexona can in the shop.

Oz Blasters shop assistant Jarred Lyons was held up at knifepoint at a Lake St business in the Cairns CBD on Tuesday. Picture: Peter Carruthers

In a second armed robbery, a group of boys were walking along Abbott St at 7.30pm when they were allegedly confronted by two other boys who demanded money.

One alleged armed robber stated he had a knife while placing a hand into his bumbag.

The victims handed over phones and money before the alleged offenders fled on foot.

Acting inspector Glen De Lai said the two incidents are being investigated and were not understood to be connected.

“(The Abbott St) incident with the juveniles would have been quite traumatic for young children minding their own business walking along a street and then to have that fear of potential injuries,” he said.

“Armed robbery is always a concern, whether it’s in the CBD or out in the suburbs.”

Police are appealing to anyone who may be able to assist with investigations to come forward. Anonymous reports can be made by quoting police reference numbers QP2200401252 and QP2200402213.

No one was physically injured at either incident.

Follow @petercarruther1

Originally published as ‘I was sh*tting myself’: Alleged armed robbers hit CBD shop