Teens fired paintball gun at Taco John's employee
Jul. 27—Rochester police are investigating an incident in which a pair of boys, believed to be teenagers, fired paintball rounds at a Taco John's employee Monday night.
Police were called about 7:20 p.m. to the restaurant at 1045 Seventh St. NW for a report of an attempted robbery through the drive-thru. Rochester police Capt. Casey Moilanen said Tuesday morning that police did not believe it was actually a robbery, but that the pair were "trying to cause fear in the people working there."
Witnesses told police that two boys, believed to be younger than 18, were driving around the parking lot in a boxy-type black SUV, staring into the business. The pair eventually parked the vehicle and one got out and came into the restaurant with a ski mask on his head but not over his face. The boy got back into the vehicle and then went through the drive-thru and placed an order.
When the vehicle drove up to the window, the pair had the ski masks over their faces and the 17-year-old employee started to get really nervous, Moilanen said. The employee saw what he believed to be an AR-style gun in the hands of a backseat passenger and dropped to the floor, believing he may be shot.
Several rounds were fired into the restaurant and at the outside. It turned out the weapon was a paintball gun, Moilanen said.
The vehicle and the two individuals inside of it were gone by the time officers arrived. The incident is under investigation. No one was hurt or hit by the paintballs.
