Armed men rob Rochester Hills Burger King

Two men armed with handguns early in the morning on Sunday, April 29, held employees up at a Rochester Hills Burger King restaurant at gunpoint and robbed the store in the 2500 block of Crooks Road, authorities said.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Office said the robbery occurred about 12:16 a.m. on Sunday, just after the restaurant's closing time at midnight. That's when deputies were informed the two armed men left the store through the rear exit and fled the area.

Deputies said an employee told them he stepped outside to smoke a cigarette and was ambushed by the two men. The victim said both were carrying semi-automatic handguns. The men pointed one of the guns at the back of the employee's head and forced him to go back inside the restaurant, after which he was hit in the head with the gun.

The employee was then ordered to lay face down on a food preparation table while one of the other gunmen searched the building for other employees.

A female employee told deputies she was inside a walk-in refrigerator when the robbery began. At some point, she was ordered out of the fridge at gunpoint and directed to the manager's office where the safe was kept. The employee was then forced to open the safe and place all the cash into a gray bank bag. The men then fled the area.

Authorities said the men left with about $1,500.

A K-9 unit and detectives responded to the scene, but weren't able to locate the men.

The male victim declined medical attention by paramedics responding to the scene.

The gunmen were described as a black males, about 20 years old. The first gunman was wearing a ski mask that covered his head. He was also wearing a black hooded jacket and gray sweatpants, with blue shorts under the sweatpants. The second man was about 6-feet tall wearing all black clothing.

The case is under investigation.