APOPKA, Fla. – An 18-year-old man was arrested Saturday morning after Apopka police said he fired a gun at a Dunkin' Donuts employee.
Police said the Robby Whittaker Jr., who was armed with a handgun, approached an employee in the parking lot of the Dunkin' Donuts at 212 E. Main St. around 5 a.m., just as the woman was arriving to work.
Whittaker told the woman not to say anything, but she began screaming, police said. Officers said Whittaker then fired three shots toward the woman, hitting the building, before he fled. Police said bullet holes could be seen in the drive-through window.
An employee inside the restaurant called 911 and Apopka police arrived and searched for Whittaker, the Police Department said.
"There's nothing I can do about it except keep myself safe and my neighbor as well," said Cathy Norton, who lives right around the corner and heard the shots fired. "[You just have to] try to notice anything that's not usual or out of the ordinary."
Police found Whittaker on the Apopka Bike Trail and took him into custody. Whittaker told an officer that he had dirt on his clothing and twigs in his hair because he had just been play fighting with his girlfriend in the grass, the report said.
Whittaker was taken to the Orange County Jail and was charged with attempted homicide, robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed firearm and use of a firearm during a felony, police said.
Apopka police said no one was injured during the shooting.
For customers at the store, it's alarming hearing about all this happening early on a Saturday morning.
"That's when people get together and going to work and get their coffee," said Robert Washington, of Apopka. "You never expect that."