A filling station in Mountrath was robbed at gunpoint last night with the raider then proceeding to crash his getaway car before hijacking a passing motorist.
The terrifying incident happened at the well-known and very busy Emo Oil filling station, Mighty Mols, on the Portlaoise Road in Mountrath.
A Garda spokesperson has said that “Sometime after midnight a lone male brandishing a firearm and his face covered entered the shop.
“He held up the staff member and took a quantity of cash, the culprit then fled the scene in a vehicle. Culprit crashed vehicle and hijacked another car from a passerby.
“The Gardai attending the scene subsequently came upon a second crashed vehicle. Suspect arrested and firearm recovered after a search of area by a number of local units. A number of crime scenes preserved this morning and further searches to be conducted.”
This robbery comes just days after the Post Office in Ballybrittas was burgled. A man was charged in Naas District Court suspected of that incident and a number of other break-ins in the Kildare region over the last week.
The 25-year-old from South Dublin was remanded in custody and the court heard he had a drug debt.
