MESA, Ariz. — Frightening moments during an armed robbery at an Arizona toy store were captured on video when the suspect waved his handgun around as he committed the afternoon crime of violence earlier this year, according to reports.
Newly released security video from Silent Witness showed a few adults and some children playing in one of the aisles at the Teddy Bears El Paraiso store on Brown Road in Mesa. On April 16 at about 1:30 p.m., a man brandishing a handgun appears on the screen and begins issuing commands to terrified customers. The kids and adults are seen with their hands raised in the air. The children were as young as 8-years-old, reported KPHO-TV.
The gun-wielding suspect demanded cash and checks from store manager, Eliseo Francisco, who was behind the register with his 9-year-old son.
“You can tell when someone has the intention to do a lot of harm,” Francisco told the news outlet of the thief. “I saw that in his eyes.”
The armed robbery occurred at a toy store in Mesa, Arizona. (Mesa Police Department)
The gun-wielding crook entered Teddy Bears El Paraiso in Mesa during the afternoon of April 16 and ordered six customers, including children as young as 8 years old, into the corner. (Mesa Police Department)
“When he pointed the gun at me, I knew he would shoot me if I didn’t give him what he wanted. At that moment, I prayed to God to help me because it was life or death,” said Francisco, who surrendered $800 in cash during the crime.
“I gave him everything so [he] wouldn’t hurt anyone,” the store manager told Fox 10 Phoenix.
Francisco believes the business was specifically targeted since they provide money transfers to other countries, although he typically doesn’t keep a large amount of cash in the register, the New York Post reported.
“I would feel more calm when he’s arrested and not able to do this again,” Francisco told KPHO-TV.
The experience as a crime victim still rattles his nerves, he told Fox 10. “Everytime someone came into the door, I [feel] like it was someone [who was there] to rob me,” he exclaimed.
Law enforcement authorities continue looking for the suspect. According to a flier released Friday by Silent Witness, a non-profit Phoenix program that allows for anonymous tips, a $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the man’s arrest.
“He should be considered armed and dangerous,” the flier warned. The perpetrator was described as man in his mid-to-late-20s. 5′7″ to 5′9″, about 150-160 lbs and was wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeved orange shirt, a black baseball cap, a black head mask, a red banana, a black glove on his left hand and gray sneakers with a white stripe.
Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS, or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish.
