A restaurant waiter was attacked with the butt of a gun during a robbery in Didsbury.
At about 11.15pm on Sunday, 29 January 2012, three masked men went into Gusto restaurant on Wilmslow Road armed with a shotgun and knives.
“Thankfully, (staff) had the presence of mind to comply with the demands of the robbers – if they hadn’t, we could be talking about an even more serious crime."
They held the manager and three staff members at the back of the restaurant and forced the manager to open a safe.
During the incident one was hit on the back of his head with a butt of the gun while another was slashed on the side of a face with a knife.
The robbers then fled with a large amount of cash.
Neither victim were badly injured, but both were left badly shaken.
All of the robbers were white and two of them had slim builds. One was between 5ft 10in and 6ft tall, wore a black bomber jacket and had a six inch knife while the other was about 5ft 7in tall and wore a grey sports jacket with dark sleeves and a large knife. The third offender - the gunman - was stockier than the others, about 5ft 10in tall and wore a black jacket and black gloves. He had a single barrelled shotgun, about 10 inches long.
Detective Constable Dave Lees, of South Manchester CID, said: “It is completely unacceptable to threaten restaurant staff who are simply trying to do their jobs.
“They work long hours and should never be subjected to violence at their place of work.
“Thankfully, they had the presence of mind to comply with the demands of the robbers – if they hadn’t, then we could be talking about an even more serious crime.
“I now want to hear from anyone who saw men acting suspiciously in the area to contact us. Your call could help us catch some violent criminals.”
Anyone with any information is asked to call Longsight CID on 0161 856 4264 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
