North Fulton County

Woman leaving work carjacked at gunpoint in busy shopping center

By Mike Petchenik, WSB-TV
By Mike Petchenik, WSB-TV

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Dunwoody police are searching for an armed man they say carjacked a store worker in a busy shopping district.

The victim told Channel 2's Mike Petchenik she was leaving her job at Bed, Bath & Beyond on Perimeter Center Parkway on Oct. 6 when she noticed two suspicious men in the parking lot.

“I saw one gentleman cross my path walking through the parking lot,” she told Petchenik. “A second guy was squatting between two cars and he was approaching a car where an older couple and their granddaughter had just gotten in the car.”

Then, she said, one of the men ran up to her, his face covered, a gun in his hand.

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“I put my hands up and I said, ‘I don’t have anything,’” she said. “He said, ‘Give me your (expletive) keys.’”

The victim told Petchenik she froze in fear and could see the man’s finger on the trigger, but she gathered the strength to toss the keys to the gunman.

“I’m very emotional. I’m fearful,” she said. “I’m afraid since he’s still out there.”

She told Petchenik police told her they recovered her car near downtown Atlanta. Her purse and other property were gone.

“He was very bold. We were still open for business,” she said. “The parking lot was very well lit.”

Dunwoody police have released a surveillance picture they believe is the robbery suspect and said the victim handled herself well under the circumstances.

“For your safety, for everyone else’s safety, do exactly what the person asks you to,” Officer Mark Stevens said. “If they demand your keys, give them your keys, stay back. If you get a chance to run away, do it safely.”

Customers in the busy Perimeter shopping center told Petchenik the attack has them concerned.

“It can happen anywhere to anybody,” Dawn O’Neill said. “You’ve got to keep your eyes open.”

Cox Media Group

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