McKEES ROCKS (KDKA) — It was a scary morning at a McKees Rocks tanning salon when an employee says a masked man kicked in the business’s door and pulled a gun on the people inside.

The man got away and police are now searching for him.

Debbie Calio, an employee of the Tan Your Can salon, says she had just opened the business along Chartiers Avenue for the day when minutes later she saw the shadow of a man in the front waiting area.

The next thing she knew, he kicked in the door where she and a customer were sitting.

“I seriously thought he was going to shoot me,” said Calio. “He had everything covered – a hoodie, a mask.

“He held the gun to him and knocked him to the ground. Then, he held the gun to my face and said give me your money. And I said it’s right there in the bag,” she added. “He put me to the ground and said ‘no one get up until I leave.’”

While the pair lay on the ground, they say all they could do was pray and hope that the masked man didn’t use the gun in his hand.”

“What could I do? Just lay on the ground. He was waving that gun,” said Bernie Slutiak, a customer. “I thought he was going to shoot.”

The two describe the robber as wearing a gray, hooded sweatshirt, jeans and some sort of medical mask.

He took off on foot, managing to get away with several hundred dollars in cash.

Police from McKees Rocks, Pittsburgh and Kennedy Township arrived and hit the pavement. They searched throughout the neighborhood looking for anything he may have dropped along the way.

Calio says she was impressed by the response.

“It’s amazing,” she said. “I hope they catch him.”

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