2 weekend armed robberies could be connected to string of May holdups
6/3/2014Police are investigating a pair of weekend armed robberies that may be related to a string of holdups dating to early May.
A carryout owner was assaulted by two masked, armed men when they robbed Cigarette Outlet, 2620 Airport Hwy. Sunday night.
Police also are investigating a similar robbery Friday night at Airport Stop Carryout, 3326 Airport Hwy. Police are investigating whether the two are connected to a larger string of robberies with the same apparent operation.
On Sunday, at 9:52 p.m., two men with their faces covered and guns drawn went into the store and immediately hit the store owner, Ahmad Musa, while simultaneously demanding cash, according to a police report. The suspects forced the victim to open the register and took about $2,000 from the drawer. Mr. Musa refused to empty his pockets, and the suspects proceeded to assault him while taking whatever he did have in his pockets, police said.
The robbers then fled.
The robbery Friday was reported at 10:14 p.m. Police said two men with T-shirts over their heads went into the store and robbed the clerk at gunpoint. One suspect stayed in front of the counter while the second jumped over, pointing his gun at the clerk while the suspects waited for the cash. Money in hand, the suspects fled on foot.
Two armed, masked men have struck at least five other carryout stores since May 5. Targeted were:
● Stop ’N Go, 1256 Broadway.
● Stop ’N Go, 1409 Western Ave.
● East Side Sunoco, 615 Oak St.
● Stop ’N Go, 1901 Broadway.
● Stop ’N Go, 1806 Arlington Ave.
Several other robberies have been carried out in the city with only one suspect but similar characteristics.