Restaurant worker robbed, assaulted in Shadyside
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A restaurant employee was assaulted and robbed by three masked men in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood.
It happened behind an Asian fusion restaurant on Walnut Street.
The owner and employees are in shock. They say they heard a scuffle outside in the back of the restaurant, and when they went to check it out, they found their chef lying on the ground.
"We were shocked. Like everybody is shocked."
It was minutes after closing Tuesday night when employees of Yoshino Asian Fusion on Walnut Street in Shadyside went into the back alley after hearing a commotion, only to find their coworker lying on the ground bleeding.
"Our chef went out for a smoke, and he saw three people [were] hiding behind this blue dumpster. We went out and saw our chef was sitting [and] bleeding; it's crazy," said Kevin Refati, cousin of the owner.
Refati was at the restaurant Tuesday night and by the chef's side within seconds of the attack.
He told KDKA-TV that as soon as the chef walked outside, three masked men jumped out from behind these dumpsters and attacked him, stealing $200 and his cell phone before taking off in a car.
The three suspects reportedly got into an older model, dark-colored Honda CRV, which was parked in the alley, blocking the parking lot.
"It's pretty alarming," said Pitt student Aedryss Benkrid. "Violence in any area, especially the nicer areas of Pittsburgh, is concerning."
People who live and work in this neighborhood tell KDKA-TV that crime is on the uptick in Shadyside, with this attack being just one in a string of incidents.
Just this morning, a man was arrested for stealing a car outside a pizza shop on Highland Avenue. The victim said he pulled into the parking lot to pick up his order when the suspect jumped in the driver's seat and took off.
The suspect, Jesse Burton, crashed the car a short time later and was arrested.
"I tell all employees after work to go together, not alone."
Refati told KDKA-TV the restaurant surveillance cameras broke a year ago, but they never replaced them because they thought they didn't need them because Shadyside is a safe neighborhood.
They say they're in the process of getting new ones now.