Police search for armed men wearing Halloween masks who robbed Cici's pizza

HOUSTON – Houston police are looking for two men who stormed into a CiCi's Pizza Thursday night wearing Halloween masks.

The armed robbers entered the CiCi's in the 900 block of Shepherd around 8:45pm. Police said one of them then jumped over the counter and demanded money from the register. They left the restaurant with an undisclosed amount of cash and were last seen running through a nearby alley.

Based on the suspect descriptions and their tactics, police believe the same two suspects may be responsible for a robbery at a Subway in the 3600 block of the Katy Freeway Wednesday night. In that incident, two suspects ran into the restaurant, pointed a gun at an employee, then jumped the counter and forced her to open the register. They were also wearing Halloween masks.

The crimes come after a string of fast food and restaurant robberies this week, including a confrontation that turned deadly at a Subway on MLK and the South Loop. Police are still looking for the two suspects who ran into that restaurant Tuesday night and shot and killed customer Christopher McGrew.

While the Houston Police Department reports a a slight rise in fast food robberies this year, HPD Chief Charles McClelland said people shouldn't be fearful about grabbing something to eat.

"I would tell them that it is safe to go get a sandwich. But regardless of these high profile cases that happened recently, we should all be aware of our surroundings and always remember, don't put your life in jeopardy over property," said McClelland.

Houston police said there have been 123 fast food robberies to date this year. At this point last year, there were 119.

Meanwhile, the department is reporting a 27 percent decrease in the number of restaurant robberies. They say there have been 92 of those cases this year compared to 126 in the same time period last year.