Sumner armed robbery leaves customer injured, store flooded

The police chief says in all of 2022, there were only four armed robberies in the city of Sumner. In 2023, there have already been six armed robberies in just the first six weeks of the year alone.

Sumner, wash. - Two robbers in Sumner are accused of beating up a customer, then leaving the store flooded after shooting a hole into a pipe in the ceiling.

The Sumner Police Department says it's potentially part of a larger rash of robberies in the area, and potentially the work of the same people.

"We had a robbery at Tobacco Time on Monday, February 13th," said Carmen Palmer, the communications director for the city of Sumner.

She says the robbery at the smoke shop off Main Street is part of a troubling trend.

"The reality is it’s a very traumatic experience, and we’ve had six in Sumner already," said Palmer.

Images taken from security cameras in the tobacco shop and provided by Sumner Police show two armed robbers wearing masks and dark clothing. They entered the store and fired a single shot upward, causing water to pour out of the store's sprinkler system.

"They shot one round into the ceiling, that by coincidence, struck a fire suppression pipe. So, that started spraying water, flooding the store," said Palmer.

As the store flooded, the suspects stole the cash drawer, and one of them assaulted the lone customer in the store.

In a statement, the owner of the tobacco shop told FOX 13:

"First of all, I am grateful that nobody was seriously injured. Since our store has mostly card-paying customers, we suffered little cash loss when we were robbed in the evening. Instead, there was significant water damage due to the sprinkler line was hit by gunshots. The cost of repairing the water damage alone is already exceeding $15,000. On top of that, the damage caused by soaked items is even more enormous. I believe that at this difficult time, it is necessary to swiftly arrest and strongly punish the criminals so that such crimes do not happen again to other small business owners."

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"The trauma of the incident, the cash they got, and then you have the further damage from the water coming in," said Palmer.

The suspects reportedly escaped in a late-2000s gray Nissan Ultima sedan with a defective rear passenger taillight. The vehicle and license plate were likely stolen, according to police. A similar vehicle is now under investigation in Auburn, according to Palmer.

"We did just get a tip from a viewer this morning thinking they saw the gray Ultima in Auburn," said Palmer. "So, Auburn police got that, and we are currently working on warrants, so we can search it for evidence."

The police chief says in all of 2022, there were only four armed robberies in the city of Sumner.

In 2023, there have already been six armed robberies in just the first six weeks of the year alone.

Security camera images were also captured during two robberies just weeks ago, at Day and Night Grocery on Main and City Limits Deli Mart off East Valley Highway.

FOX 13 spoke to a clerk from City Limits off-camera. He said he was victimized there and said that an armed man came behind the counter and put a gun to his head and stole cash from the register. Before leaving, he also told the clerk to hand over the hat off of his head and the suspect stole that, too.

"We are not immune. Criminals don’t know borders, and we are just as vulnerable to these crimes," said Brad Moericke, Chief of Police, Sumner Police Department.

Police say tips do help, and if you know who's responsible, contact the police tip line at 253-299-5678 and leave a message with the automated system.