THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, May 1, 1996                 TAG: 9605010448
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                            LENGTH: Short :   37 lines

OFFICER FIRES AT THIEVES DURING GETAWAY FROM WARDS CORNER

Police are looking for two suspects in an armed robbery that led to gunfire at Wards Corner Monday afternoon.

The robbery occurred about 3 p.m. at Wards Corner Mall in the 7500 block of Granby Street, police spokeswoman Maravia Ebong said. Two men wearing masks entered S & S Fashions and New York New York and robbed both stores at gunpoint.

They grabbed merchandise, then left through the rear of the mall. They then began to drive away in a car that had been stolen earlier in the afternoon, Ebong said.

A witness alerted an off-duty Norfolk police officer who was nearby. The officer, whose name was not released, approached the getaway car and tried to arrest the suspects.

One of the men pointed a gun at the officer in a ``threatening manner,'' Ebong said. The officer fired two or three shots, which hit the vehicle as it sped away. No one was injured.

The car was discovered abandoned about a mile away with some of the stolen merchandise inside. A witness told police the men ran away from the vehicle, Ebong said.

Police released a brief description of the suspects. Both were black men. One was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 145 pounds and the other was 6 feet tall and 180 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Line at 664-4040.

KEYWORDS: ROBBERIES by CNB