Aurora police investigating armed robbery, carjacking

Aurora police are searching for a man who robbed a liquor store at gunpoint Tuesday night and made his getaway in a carjacked SUV.

The robbery happened about 8:35 p.m. at Randall Liquors on the 300 block of East Galena Boulevard on the city's near east side.

Police said a man with a partially covered face entered the store, approached two workers and hit one of them on the head with a handgun. The suspect then forced both men to lie on the floor before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of cash and liquor.

Once outside, the suspect approached a man and woman who were inside a 2004 Ford Escape in the liquor store's parking lot and demanded their vehicle at gunpoint.

Meanwhile, officers responding to the store's panic alarm saw the gray SUV leaving the lot at a high rate of speed.

One of the officers pursued the SUV along several neighborhood streets but eventually terminated the pursuit when it became too dangerous because of wet roads and traffic, officials said.

After the pursuit was terminated, police learned the SUV had run off the road and over the curb on the northeast corner of Downer Place and Root Street.

Witnesses told police the suspect got out of the vehicle and quickly entered a waiting dark-colored sedan similar to a Pontiac Grand Am. That car was last seen going south on Root.

Police describe the suspect as a possibly a mixed-race man, about 6 feet tall with a thin build. He was dressed in black.

A gun and proceeds from the robbery were found in the SUV, which police say is being processed for evidence.

There were no injuries that required medical attention, police said.

Anyone with information should call Aurora police at (630) 256-5500 or Aurora Area Crime Stoppers at (630) 892-1000.