It was business as usual Wednesday morning at Shipley Donuts.
One day after a brutal robbery attempt which saw one cashier get her throat cut and another male employee stabbed multiple times, the crew at Shipley was shaken but not crippled.
“We”re still emotional, but we depend on each other to get through it,” said Queen Edmonds, a 10-year employee at Shipley.
A large part of the optimism Wednesday at the Starkville doughnut was probably due to the condition of the injured employees. Owner Joe Kenny said the 65-year-old cashier whose throat was slashed could possibly be released today. The 25-year-old male who fought off the knife-wielding attacker was treated and released yesterday for shallow wounds to his chest, shoulder and neck.
“It”s absolutely horrible what happened, but they”re extremely blessed,” said customer Melinda Bowman. “I”m grateful everybody is OK.”
Another factor in Wednesday”s good vibes was probably due to fact that George Johnson, 21, of Weir, was captured by Starkville Police within an hour of the attack and robbery. He faces a $350,000 bond for armed robbery and two counts of aggravated assault.
“The SPD did a phenomenal job,” said Kenny. “Chief David Lindley talked to the staff to help and that made a big difference. It”s going to take a couple days to get things back to normal even with the help. We”re still a little shell shocked.”
Geneva Vorod, an almost daily Shipley customer and a friend of the injured cashier, went to see her friend in the hospital Tuesday.
“She seemed to be calm,” said Vorod.
Obviously, things could have been worse. Specifically, Vorod was told the cashier”s jugular vein was nicked when Johnson cut her across the throat.
Freddy Lucious, a three-year employee at Shipley said he”s been trying to keep everyone”s minds off what could have happened and keep the mood positive.
“I”m the pep. Laughing, playing music, singing, dancing, just comforting things,” said Lucious. “(The injured cashier) is like my mother. All of them are really like mothers. We have our ups and downs but we”re a family at the end of the day.”
Kenny said he”s been overwhelmed at the outpouring of support Shipley Donuts has received in the last 24 hours.
“We”ve had hundreds of calls and people coming by showing concern. It”s very humbling,” he said.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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