Caught on cam: Man with gun pushes past victim’s children while robbing North Philly restaurant

A masked robber bursts into a North Philadelphia restaurant, walks past screaming children seated at a table and points his gun at the woman behind the counter in new video released by Philadelphia police.

Northwest Detectives on Thursday shared the video of the Saturday, May 24, 2025, robbery of Shauna’s Restaurant & Banquet Hall along North Mascher Street in the Olney neighborhood.

Editor’s Note (May 29, 2025, 10 a.m.): This video contains graphic images of gun violence toward a woman and children.

The restaurant’s owner Shauna Williams told investigators she was closing down the eatery around 9 p.m. with her three children present “when an unknown male entered her store and demanded money from the cash register,” police said.

The medium-built man pointed a gun at the Williams during the robbery as she waved her raised hands and appeared to be pleading with him while backing up.

“I said, ‘whatever you want, you can take it, take whatever you want,,” Williams said outside her eatery — which has reopened — Thursday.

You can hear screams and what appears to be the cries of the family members — the children were seated at a table in front of the counter — on the video released by police.

“My kids was crying, like, ‘please don’t hurt my mom, please don’t hurt my mom,’” Williams said.

You see the robber pushing Williams toward the cash register before taking money from it, picking up the her purse and rushing out of the restaurant.

“I had everything, money, everything in my pocketbook,” Williams said. “It’s hard.”

The robber pointed his gun at Williams several times during the heist.

Once outside you see the robber briefly start walking away before he runs off.

“The offender was last seen running through the SEPTA Olney train station parking lot,” police said.

During the armed robbery, the gunman — a tattoo on his right hand — wore “a blue hooded jacket that was dark blue and royal blue on bottom, ripped up dark blue jeans and white ‘New Balance’ sneakers.” His face was mostly covered, expect for his eyes and nose.

Police hope someone recognizes the robber and calls Northeast Detectives at 215-686-3353/3354 or calls 911 should the spot him.