Man armed with assault rifle robs Orange County Burger King

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Several Burger King employees were terrified when a man walked in armed with an assault rifle and robbed the Orange County restaurant Friday night, deputies said.

The incident was just the latest in a string of fast-food robberies that have taken place within the last few weeks.

"It's starting to look like a pattern that maybe somebody should look into because we have a few Burger Kings in the area that have been hit," a Burger King manager who did not want to be identified said.

Three weeks ago, another Burger King by the University of Central Florida was robbed when a man forced the drive-through worker to hand over cash at gunpoint. Security analysts said fast food is as tempting of a target for criminals as convenience stores.

When the man walked into the Burger King with an assault rifle, employees could not call for help because the silent alarm was not working.

Many customers said they were surprised violent crimes like these occurred in east Orange County.

"This used to be a real nice area. It seems like it is just getting worse and worse," Gonzalez said.

Then, when a gunman forced employees into a freezer at a McDonald's on South Orange Avenue last month, the security camera was not working.

"Anything that would protect our stores, our employees, myself, my customers feel safe would be welcome," the manager said.

Detectives drew connections between some of the robberies, but have yet to make any arrests.
WFTV contacted Burger King to ask about their concerns about their employee's safety, but the company, whose headquarters are in South Florida, has not responded.

WFTV