By Sarah Schulz
sarah.schulz@theindependent.com

A black man with a handgun entered two Grand Island businesses on Wednesday and demanded money, police Capt. Robert Falldorf said.

The first incident occurred at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at Eddie's Gas and Food, 417 N. Sycamore St. A man described as about 6 feet tall and thin entered the store, brandished a black semi-automatic handgun and demanded money from store clerk Chris Chambers, Falldorf said.

Chambers thought something was missing from the top of the gun and told the man he didn't think the gun was real. The man got mad, yelled and left the store without taking anything, Falldorf said.

Chambers told police the man was wearing jeans and a gray hooded sweatshirt with a zipper. He had a pink or faded red bandana over part of his face. He was also wearing silver sunglasses, Falldorf said.

At 11:32 p.m., a black man entered OK Liquor, 305 W. Koenig St., and demanded money from the owner, Harold Carmichael. The man had a black semi-automatic handgun, Falldorf said.

Carmichael pulled the drawer out of the cash register and pushed it across the counter toward the man. The drawer fell on the floor, and the man picked it up and left the store on foot, Falldorf said.

Carmichael called 911 as the man was leaving. He described the robber as 6 feet 2 inches tall, slim and in his 20s. He spoke with a Sudanese accent, was wearing a green hooded sweatshirt and had a red bandana covering part of his face, Falldorf said.

"That pretty much matches," he said. "There's a good chance it's the same guy."

Police have no suspects. However, the descriptions of the man are similar to those given following two robberies in February.

On Feb. 4, Chambers was working at Eddie's Gas and Food when a man with a gun robbed the store at 8:15 p.m. Falldorf said that man was described as black with a slender build, short dark hair and was 6 feet to 6 feet 4 inches tall. He had a bandana covering part of his face, Falldorf said.

On Feb. 11, a man with a similar description robbed the Tienda Viva Mexico, 224 E. Fourth St., Falldorf said.

During both of the February robberies, the man pointed a black handgun at the clerks and took money, Falldorf said.

No one was injured in any of the robberies, he said.

Falldorf said video surveillance equipment was present in at least one of the stores but wasn't working. Having working video equipment and calling law enforcement immediately can aid in investigations, he said.