Train operators robbed at gunpoint

Published 12:00 am Monday, April 30, 2012

By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Armed with a shotgun and revolver, two men boarded a Norfolk Southern train last night and robbed two people, police said.
The gunmen, who were both wearing black ski masks, took wallets from the train’s conductor and engineer, a Salisbury Police report said.
Police said the robbers entered through a back door of the engine compartment about 11 p.m. A report said the two employees were stopped in the 300 block of East Council Street, waiting for shift replacements.
Police estimated about $30 in cash and credit cards were taken in the robbery.
The men were last seen running along the tracks away from the train.
The first suspect was described as a black male about 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds. He was wearing jeans and a white T-shirt, the report said.
The second suspect, who was carrying a pump shotgun with a wooden stock, was a black male about 190 pounds, and about 5-foot-9.
Both men were in their late teens to early 20s, the report said.
Salisbury Police Capt. Shelia Lingle said this is the first time she’s heard of a train robbery in Salisbury.
“I’ve never known it to happen here,” she said.
The employees contacted Norfolk Southern after the robbery. Salisbury Police were subsequently called.
Lingle said the case has been turned over to the department’s criminal investigation division.
Contact reporter Nathan Hardin at 704-797-4246.
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