HEMPSTEAD - A gunman held up a doughnut shop, pistol-whipped an employee and forced her to open a safe but then ran away empty-handed after another employee grabbed his weapon, police said.

The gunman, Karsheam Simpkins, entered the doughnut shop just before 1 a.m. Sunday, confronted the two employees and ushered them toward an office in the back, Nassau County police said.

He smacked a female employee with his gun and made her open the safe, they said.

But while he was going through the safe, a male employee snatched his gun from him, police said.

He ran out a back door, they said.

Two police officers saw the robber running away and arrested him as he was entering his home a few blocks away, they said.

Simpkins, 31, was charged with robbery and criminal possession of a weapon.

He was to be arraigned later Sunday.

His home telephone number was unlisted.