Police shoot, injure man accused of holding 2 women at knife-point in O.C. Subway shop

Police in Anaheim shot and wounded a man who allegedly held two Subway sandwich shop employees at knife-point Sunday afternoon during an attempted robbery, authorities said.

When one of the two employees called police about 2 p.m., she “was whispering” and the emergency dispatcher could not decipher what was being said, according to Anaheim Police Sgt. Daron Wyatt.

Officers responded to the Subway shop in the 1100 block of West Lincoln Avenue and found that two employees, both women, were being held at knife-point by a man. The knife was originally reported as measuring between 8 to 10 inches, Wyatt said. The officers radioed that a robbery was in progress.

About 20 minutes after arriving, officers entered the Subway and shot the man an unknown number of times. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition but was later upgraded to stable condition. He is expected to survive, Wyatt said.

The incident was recorded by police officers’ body cameras. Officers did not use a Taser or less-than-lethal force before firing at the suspect, Wyatt said.

Neither woman was physically injured, but Wyatt said the ordeal was “very traumatic.”

“They credit the officers with saving their life,” Wyatt said.

The suspect was described as a 33-year-old man. His name was withheld. Investigators have not identified any prior relationship between suspect and the Subway shop or its employees.

“It appears to be an armed takeover robbery. It doesn’t look like a domestic relationship or that he was an employee,” Wyatt said.

The incident is under investigation by the Orange County district attorney’s office and the Anaheim Police Department.

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