Two in custody after armed robbery at Cedar Rapids restaurant

UPDATE: Police have detained two men after an early-morning armed robbery at an Arby's restaurant in Cedar Rapids.

Officers responded around 12:30 a.m. to the restaurant at 1333 Edgewood Rd. SW. Police said the lone suspect had a gun and struck a female employee several times in the head, but no gunshots were fired.

Employee Elizabeth Conley, 43, told police she was closing the restaurant when she heard a knock at the back door. The person claimed to be a manager when she asked, but a man with a gun entered when she opened the door. The man pushed her into the office, struck her in the head and demanded she open the safe, according to Sgt. Cristy Hamblin.

Conley said she did not know how to open the safe, and the suspect hit her several more times, police said. When she tried to call 911, the suspect grabbed her cell phone and ran out the back door.

Lt. Kenneth Washburn confirmed two men were in custody and interviews were under way.

Conley immediately called police. She suffered a laceration to the left side of her forehead, and was taken to Mercy Medical Center, where she was treated and released.

The suspect, described as a black male around 5-foot-6, was wearing a black and white bandanna and a black sweat shirt. He did not get any money before running away, police said.

No other details were immediately available. An investigation was continuing.

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