Masked gunmen rob Vittle Village

staff report

EAST PALESTINE — Columbiana County sheriff’s deputies said two employees of the Vittle Village store on state Route 14 were robbed at gunpoint by two masked men.

A third employee, unnoticed by the robbers, was able to call police for help, deputies said.

The pair, one holding a gun, entered the store around 8:45 p.m. Monday and demanded cash, threatening to shoot the store employees if they didn’t comply, deputies said.

One employee opened the cash register, and one of the robbers scooped out some cash. The men then took a second employee’s purse and grabbed some cigarettes before fleeing in a maroon-colored vehicle, deputies said.