An armed man has left two employees of a Florida office of Budget Rent-A-Car in hospital.

According to police in Titusville, the gunman burst into the rental facility, situated on the corner of South Washington Avenue and South Terrier Trail, at around 0900 on Wednesday morning. He attempted to rob the office and proceeded to pistol-whip the two staff members before escaping. The two employees were taken to the Parrish Medical Center where they were treated, though both are expected to make a full recovery.

Police said that the gunman did not escape in any vehicle from the depot, and are waiting to interview the two injured employees to ascertain if any cash was stolen.  Police investigators admit to being baffled by the attempted theft of a car rental facility, as nearly all transactions in the industry are done electronically by credit card, with car hire locations very rarely the scene of armed robberies.

According to police, a 6-foot-2 black man entered the building as the two employees were opening for the day, brandishing the pistol and making demands, before beating them with the gun, fortunately, no shots were fired. The suspect was reportedly seen fleeing the scene on foot. Officers also revealed that at approximately the same time the received another report that a vehicle had been abandoned behind an empty house around one mile from the attempted robbery location. They are investigating the car but other than the close timing of the events could find no link between the two incidents.