POULSBO — The Burger King on 7th Avenue in Poulsbo Village was robbed shortly after 5 a.m. Thursday. The suspect bound the employees  with zip ties and left the scene on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.

Deputy Police Chief Wendy Davis said the suspect is described as a white male in his 20s, 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 8 inches tall, medium build, wearing a hoodie, a black coat, skater-style tennis shoes, blue or black pants, light brown leather gloves, and a scarf over his face. He was armed with a black and silver semiautomatic handgun.

The suspect is considered armed and dangerous. Davis said anyone seeing someone matching the suspect’s description should call 911.

Two Burger King employees were setting up for the morning, and one went to take the trash out the back door, Davis said. The suspect was there, waiting for somebody to open the back door. He had a large-caliber, semi-automatic handgun, Davis said.

The suspect ordered the employee back inside, ordered one of the employees to put money into a bag, then ordered them to lie on the floor, Davis said. He tied their hands with zip ties and then left the scene on foot. The ties were not applied tightly, however, and the employees were able to free themselves and call 911.

Poulsbo Police received the call at 5:27 a.m.

“There was a two-minute delay from the time the suspect left to the time the employees were able to call 911,” Davis said. The employees were not injured.

Police were on the scene and the area cordoned off through the early morning. A Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department K-9 unit dog was brought in to track the suspect. The suspect crossed over Highway 305 toward the Poulsbo Fire Station, but the dog then lost scent, indicating the suspect may have left in a vehicle, Davis said.