A gunman held up a Speedway gas station near Summit Avenue and Delafield Street in Waukesha early Thursday, forced the lone overnight clerk into a back room, and bound them with zip ties before fleeing with cash. A customer walking into the store shortly afterward found the employee tied up and alerted emergency responders, and police say the clerk was not hurt.
The robbery happened around 12:40 a.m. in the 400 block of Summit Avenue, according to TMJ4 News. The suspect entered the store armed with a handgun and demanded money from the employee, who was working alone at the time. As reported by WTMJ, the gunman took an undisclosed amount of cash before forcing the clerk into the rear of the store and restraining them.
Customer Discovers Bound Clerk, Calls For Help
The tied-up employee stayed put until a customer walked in not long after the gunman had already left, discovering the scene and getting emergency responders involved, per the same account. That sequence of events is how Waukesha police first learned of the robbery, since the clerk had no way to call for help while restrained in the back room. Investigators have not disclosed how long the employee was left tied up before being found.
Waukesha police are still searching for the suspect, and key details remain unresolved, including the gunman's identity, physical description, whether surveillance footage or vehicle information exists, and the exact amount of cash taken. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Lusmann at the Waukesha Police Department at 262-524-3924. Tipsters can also reach the department's 24-hour non-emergency dispatch line at 262-524-3831, according to Waukesha's city government, or submit anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers of Waukesha County, which offers cash rewards of $25 to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.
Serious Charges Await If Suspect Is Caught
Once identified, the suspect could face substantial prison time. Armed robbery with a dangerous weapon like a handgun is a Class C felony under Wisconsin Statute § 943.32(2), carrying up to 40 years in prison — including up to 25 years of initial confinement — and a fine of up to $100,000, according to the Van Severen Law Office. Binding the clerk with zip ties could also support a separate charge of false imprisonment under Wis. Stat. § 940.30, a Class H felony punishable by up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Armed commercial robberies remain relatively rare in Waukesha. FBI crime data compiled by OpenCrime shows the city recorded five robberies in 2024 and an overall violent crime rate of 114.0 per 100,000 residents, well below the national average of 359.1. Still, this is not the only recent scare at a Waukesha retail location — on July 30, an armed suspect took a hostage inside the Meijer on Sunset Drive, an incident that ended in an officer-involved shooting and, on August 18, a $1 million cash bond set in Waukesha County Circuit Court, as reported by CBS 58. In August 2025, police also investigated a theft suspect who threatened employees with a knife along the Summit corridor near Brentwood before being arrested following a vehicle stop, according to FOX6 Milwaukee.
The Speedway robbery adds to a string of public safety incidents Waukesha police have responded to this year, though the department has not indicated any link between this case and the earlier Meijer hostage situation. For now, investigators are asking the public for tips as they work to identify the armed suspect still at large.
