He wore an angry clown mask when he shot a customer after robbing Waffle House, cops say

A man robbed a Waffle House restaurant and shot a customer while wearing an angry clown mask, WSB-TV reported.

The robbery occurred around 6 a.m. Tuesday, said police in Atlanta, who are searching for the suspect after he stole a car from one of the customers, according to Fox 5.

Witnesses say the suspect was pacing in the parking lot in a black hooded sweatshirt before he came into the restaurant and went into the bathroom, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Police said he emerged from the bathroom wearing a mask and "produced a gun," which he used to rob the store, as well as all of the customers and employees.

Police said the suspect "demanded wallets and phones" from the customers, then demanded a car and took one man's keys before grabbing the cash register on his way out of the Waffle House, WSB-TV reported.

"I thought it was a joke. But for real man I was shocked, so I gave my car to him. I didn't want to get shot,” Charles Fears said, according to WIS-TV.

Another customer was not as fortunate.

One of the people robbed went to a window and was shot in the neck when "the suspect fired a shot," CBS-46 reported.

“The one that got shot was arguing with the guy,” Fears said, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The guy was standing by the window and he shot through the glass.”

The person who was shot "was alert, conscious and breathing," when he was taken to an area hospital, Fox 5 reported.

Police found the stolen car after it had been abandoned a couple of blocks away on the Georgia Tech campus, according to WSB, which said there was no sign of the mask or the cash register.

This story was originally published July 11, 2018 at 8:47 AM with the headline "He wore an angry clown mask when he shot a customer after robbing Waffle House, cops say."