Authorities are searching for a man accused of robbing an Arizona toy store at gunpoint with three children present, according to a nonprofit and police.
The man entered
Teddy Bears El Paraiso in Mesa shortly before 1:30 p.m. on April 16, Silent Witness and the Mesa Police Department said in a joint July 7 news release.
Surveillance video shared by the nonprofit shows a masked man enter and stand in the back of the store. The man waits about 40 seconds before heading to the checkout counter, pointing a handgun and demanding all the customers — including the children — to gather in a corner of the store.
The man then ordered an employee behind the counter to hand over checks and cash, according to the release.
“When
he pointed the gun at me, I knew he would shoot me if I didn’t give him what he wanted,” the store’s manager, Eliseo Francisco, told AZFamily. “At that moment, I prayed to God to help me because it was life or death.”
While the cashier is handing over the cash and checks, another customer walks into the store, and the gunman orders him to stand in the corner, the video shows. Shortly after, the gunman shakes out the cash register onto the counter before quickly backing away and exiting the store.
The man fled
with about $800, KTLA5 News reported.
“It
was a scary moment,” Jamey Cox, a sergeant with Mesa police, told FOX 10 Phoenix. “He showed a handgun to kids in the middle of the afternoon, in a toy store. So to us, he’s dangerous, he’s armed, and we need to find him.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.
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