DeKalb County

Terrifying moments as dad, kids held at gunpoint during store robbery

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of three armed men who held customers, including a father and his two children, at gunpoint while they robbed a cell phone store.

It happened at a T-Mobile store on LaVista Road in Tucker just after 8 p.m. According to DeKalb County police, the robbery crew are believed to be behind at least three other armed robberies in the county and at least two others in Gwinnett County.

Channel 2’s Liz Artz spoke to the father, who said his children huddled next to him, terrified. The gunmen forced six customers and five employees to the back of the store while they robbed it.

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“(They said), 'Everybody, lay down. Everybody sit down. Nobody move,'" the father, who did not want to be identified, told Artz.

“I’m not thinking for me. I'm thinking about the kids, for the kids," he said.

“This was organized, calculated. We believe they knew what they were doing, knew what they were going after," DeKalb County Detective Michael Knight said.

Detectives told Artz the gunmen were after cell phones during the March 1 robbery. Employees locked themselves in a secure room where the phones were kept and the robbers were not able to access them.

The robbers made away with $150 in cash, according to police. cash box and $150.

The man told Artz that throughout the entire ordeal, he reassured his 9- and 11-year-old children that they were going to be OK.

“(I said), 'Relax, relax it's fine. Everything is fine,'" he said. “They were scared, very scared."

If you have any information on the robbery or the crew behind it, contact CrimeStoppers at 404-577-TIPS.