Robbers smash Panera Bread window with statue, force employees to open safe

TULSA - No one was injured when armed robbers smashed the window of a Cherry Street restaurant early Monday morning.

Police say two men pulled up to Panera Bread near 15th and Utica around 5:30 a.m. and tossed a two-foot-tall statue through the window.

One of the men entered the restaurant and forced employees to open the safe.

Police say he had a handgun but he didn't fire it. No one was injured.

The suspects made off with an undisclosed amount of money.

Police only have a vague description of the suspects because they both wore hoodies.

The early morning robbery, police say, was similar to an attempted robbery at another Panera Bread Sunday.  Police say a man tried to rob the restaurant near 41st and Yale but left empty-handed.

Officers say a black male, possibly in his 20s and armed with a semi-automatic handgun, knocked on the door of the store around 6 a.m. When employees inside the store refused to open the door, the man smashed a window.

When the suspect ordered employees to open the safe the crew told the man they did not have access to it.

Police recovered the vehicle the man fled in a short while later near 41st Street and South Granite.

The suspect was described as about 5 foot 6 inches tall with a thin build. Witnesses say he was wearing a light-grey hoodie with a black shirt over it, gloves and mask.

Anyone with any information on either robbery can call Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.