A robber used pepper spray or bear spray to attack a worker before binding and gagging her at a New Jersey restaurant, police said.
It would be the second incident of pepper -- or bear -- spray being used in the commission of a crime in under a week after a man was assaulted and robbed in Medford last week.
According to police, Saturday's incident occurred at about 10:21 p.m., after the Mikado Japanese Sushi & Steak House at 793 East Route 70, had closed for the night.
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After the business had closed, police said, a man wearing a gas mask entered the building and confronted a woman there. He then "pepper sprayed (possibly bear sprayed)" the woman, officials said, before he, allegedly, bound her and gagged her mouth with duct tape.
Law enforcement officials said the suspect -- described as a man wearing all black clothing and a gas mask -- then stole an undisclosed amount of cash from the register before fleeing the business in an unknown direction.
The woman who was bound and sprayed then remained at that location until she was discovered by a co-worker, officials said.
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She was treated at a nearby hospital and released.
Law enforcement officials noted that a similar incident occurred when a man was robbed in Medford, last week. Officials shared an image taken from a surveillance camera near that Medford robbery as "it could be related" to the individual who robbed the restaurant in Marlton.
Surveillance video captured the moments after that crime in Medford as the man involved struggled following the robbery.
If anyone has any information related to this crime or observed suspicious activity in the area, The Evesham Police Department is asking people to contact them at 856-983-1116, the confidential tip line 856-983-4699, or by anonymous tip text, ETPDTIP at 847411.
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