Officers from the Hillsborough Police Department and deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office responded to an attempted armed robbery at a BP service station in Hillsborough Friday.

Police say a woman was pumping gas at the station on Cardinal Drive when she noticed a man watching her near the dumpsters. After finishing pumping gas, the woman parked in front of the convenience store and went inside. Once the woman returned to her vehicle, police say the man approached her driver’s side door and pointed a gun at her. The woman pushed the gun away, got inside the vehicle and dialed 911 while the suspect fled on foot toward the nearby McDonald’s.

According to a social media post from the Hillsborough Police Department, officers and Orange County Sheriff’s deputies set up a perimeter and canvassed the area. Surveillance footage confirmed where the man fled, and he was eventually found hiding in a nearby bathroom. He was taken into custody and the gun was found in his backpack.

Police say the man, later confirmed as Raul Elias Bu Zuniga of Durham, faces multiple charges, including attempted armed robbery, carrying a concealed weapon, assault by pointing a gun and possession of cocaine. He was transported to the Orange County Jail and is being held without bond.

“Situational awareness matters,” the Hillsborough Police Department wrote on Facebook. “This victim remained alert, acted quickly, and stayed calm in an extremely dangerous situation.”

 

Featured image via Chapel Hill Media Group

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