Man beat, pistol whipped Family Dollar clerk

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga — DeKalb County police are trying to find the man in a surveillance video who beat and pistol whipped a store clerk during a robbery.

Video from inside the Family Dollar store on Covington Highway showed the man drag a female employee in a choke hold.

He was seen pulling her hair and banging her into the counter as he tried to get access to the safe and cash register on May 27.

Police told Channel 2's Amy Napier Viteri they rarely see a business robbery that violent.

In the video, you can see the man pulling the employee's hair and slamming her into a counter.

Detective Sgt. Eric Heimer said the man in the video assaulted the employee even though she did what he said.

Police said the man was trying to get cash from the drawers and the safe but the worker couldn't access them because she was still opening the store.

"In the course of that robbery, the suspect became agitated and angry and you could see the anger level build and build," Heimer said.

At one point, the man pulled her by the hair toward the counter. Then as he tried to scan items to open the register, he was holding the gun against her.

"We know that he has a weapon. He has disregard for where that weapon is. He's got the weapon close to her head during the course of the robbery," Heimer said.

Police said he then dragged her to the office, where he hit her in the head with his gun two times and knocked her unconscious.

Shopper Sheral Simon heard about the robbery and she said she hopes someone who knows him comes forward.

"I'm very concerned because I live like, 10 minutes away. And I feel like, if he's doing wrong, he needs to be punished for it," she said.

The woman eventually regained consciousness and was able to call 911.

Police said the man left the store without getting any cash, but he did steal a carton of cigarettes.

WSBTV