ANNA — A 16-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday night after allegedly robbing the Anna Market earlier that day.

The juvenile, said Anna Police Chief Scott Evans, is facing aggravated robbery charges. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Shelby County Juvenile Court Thursday. He is currently being held at West Central Juvenile Detention Center, Troy.

“Between 2 and 2:30 p.m. Tuesday an employee of Anna Market came to the police department and said a male subject with a handgun was in the store and they believed the store was being robbed,” said Evans. “The employee gave a description to me that the person was a white male and dressed all in black between the ages of 17-20. The subject was also wearing a black handkerchief with a white design.”

While receiving information from the employee, Evans was notified by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher that a robbery was underway at the Anna Market. The subject, said the dispatcher, ran out the back door of the store.

“I went to the store and drove around the perimeter,” said Evans, “until other units arrived on the scene. As I was setting up the perimeter, a citizen advised me that a person was running westbound on west Main Street.

“There is person of interest that I’m familiar with who lives in the area where the subject was last seen running,” said Evans. “I made contact at the residence. The male subject was very cooperatives and he was transported to the Anna Market. The victim and witnesses said this was not the subject who had robbed the store and he was released.”

After the subject was released, witnesses gave Evans more details about the subject who allegedly robbed the store.

“There was another person of interest I was familiar with,” said Evans, who then went to the person’s residence. “He was asked to come to Anna Market, which he did. Once at Anna Market, the victim and the witnesses stated he was the subject who robbed the store.”

The father of the 16-year-old boy was contacted, said Evans.

“I interviewed him and it was determined there was enough evidence to detain him for the robbery,” said Evans. “He was transported to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office where he was re-interviewed.”

The teen was then transported to the West Central Juvenile Detention Center in Troy.

Evans met with the juvenile prosecutor Wednesday morning to review the charges.

The money and weapon was recovered, said Evans.

“The suspect was very cooperative,” he said.

Because the incident occurred close to Anna/Middle High School, Evans requested the school be placed on lockdown.

Anna Schools Superintendent Andy Bixler send a One Call message to district parents stating both the middle/high school and elementary school was on lockdown at 2:47 p.m. They were given the all clear to release the students around 3:45 p.m.

Students remained in the classrooms under the supervision of teachers and staff, said Bixler. The schools’s dismissal was supervised by law enforcement officials.

“Our students, staff and parents were extremely cooperative through this event,” Bixler said Tuesday afternoon.

Assisting the Anna Police during the incident and search were the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Sidney Police Department, Ohio Highway Patrol and Botkins Police. Sidney Police Officer James Jennings and K-9 Kilo and helby County Deputy Frank Bleigh and K-9 Colt assisted with the search for the suspect.

“The cooperation between law enforcement went very well, very smooth,” said Evans. “No one was hurt thankfully. This was potentially a dangerous situation.”