Wednesday, August 5, 2009

don't you point your guns at me, i'm a good guy

So I had a bit of an interesting evening a couple of nights ago. I had gone out to a Wal-Greens I don't normally use to pick up a Redbox DVD and was standing in line to do so. As always, the person in front of me was taking forever {what is up with that? seriously? I'm always in and out in one minute!} and so I was just standing there waiting. Other customers were coming in and out, making purchases, whatever, I wasn't really paying attention.

After a couple of minutes, I overheard the cashier (who was about 10 feet from me in the checkout stand) say quietly into an inhouse phone "Can you please come up here, I've just been robbed!"

At first I could barely believe what I heard, then I figured I'd better double check and see if she was all right.

Sure enough, she was looking very distraught and so I repeated to her, "Did you just say you'd been robbed?!" She nodded, but didn't want to say anything until her manager joined her, which she did, seconds later, and then the poor thing broke down sobbing.

"He pointed a gun at me and everything!"

Holy cow!

By now, people were starting to gather as this was making quite a scene (understandably) and I passed along what I had learned. I couldn't believe that this had all gone on about 10 feet from me without my even knowing! I mean I'd seen the guy and everything, but evidently he did everything very smoothly as to not cause attention!

Well one of the other customers who had just come in mentioned that he'd seen a guy run off towards a Bar & Grill just down the street, and so collectively we agreed that that must have been the guy. That particular Bar & Grill is just west of where Danny works, so I called him to let him know what was going on, that I was 'sort of' a witness to a robbery, and that he should be on the look out for a guy on the run.

A couple of minutes went by and so I got back into line to get my movie. Within 3-5 more minutes my turn came, I got my stuff and left the store--only to be staring into the guns of 3 policeman crouched behind a patrol car as they were evidently looking for the perpetrator.

"Move to the side! Move to the side!" they gestured, and I wide-eyed and obediently took a few paces to the right--kind of non-chalantly because I knew that they weren't going to catch the guy in the store and there was going to be no shooting--I guess they hadn't realized the robbery had occured at least 10 minutes ago and the guy had already left. So another customer mentioned this to them and they broke formation, one of them coming over to me to get a quick story (but not an official statement, I was not on the police report as I found out later, in fact, none of us customers were!) and then they told me I could go to my car.

I had to call Dan again to quickly inform him about this latest adrenaline pumper! I'm so grateful that I had not had the kids with me when all this happened, not only for the obvious safety sake, but also due to the fact that Sean would have freaked out. It's funny, I guess I'm so naive about stuff like that...ya think you're safe, that your town is safe, that most people are good--and I maintain that they are--but there are those scumbags out there who get desparate during hard times and make poor choices.

It didn't really hit me until last night when the movie was due back that I guess it was kind of a dangerous situation. I looked at the clock at 8:30 (which is about when the incident occured Monday night) and the last thing I wanted to do was go back out to a Wal-Greens at night. Perhaps this will teach me to be a bit more cautious, aware, and careful. And I said a little prayer of thankfulness that they guy hadn't been a raging lunatic and gone on a shooting spree while he was at his 'grand-theft-at-the-wal-greens' escapade. My thoughts are with the poor twenty-something cashier who was just doing her job yet was faced with what must have been one of the scariest moments in her life.

As per the police report, the guy was not apprehended that night. He is still at large.

16 comments:

Jennifer ♥ said...

Very scary!! I'm glad you're ok!

tif-do said...

Yikes that is scary!

Anonymous said...

I worked with these dirtbags for over five years and I gotta tell you that statistcally only about 10% of these punks are those that fall on hard times and make a bad decision. Over 65% are repeat offenders and come back to prison and the other 25% are repeat offenders, but just don't get caught. UGH!!! If we had harsher penalties, these things wouldn't happen as often.

B

The Bluths said...

Oh my! I wonder if they have him on their surveillance tape?

Mark and Jessica said...

Wow, what a heart pounding experience. I remember something like this happening to me in a thrift store one time, but the guy didn't come in and then leave. He stayed for a bit - good thing I was in the back of the store. It took some time before I got over that! I'm glad you're okay.

Liz said...

EEEk that' would have been scarry glad everyone is ok..What an experience

Anonymous said...

holy moly! Glad everything turned out ok.

Lorie said...

Glad you are okay. I was robbed when I worked as a teller at a bank, so it doesn't surprise me that you didn't notice. No one in the bank saw anything...not the people in line waiting or the tellers on either side of me.

Glad you are okay.

Torrie said...

It's funny how things can happen a few feet away from us and we don't even notcie. One time when I worked at a bank a teller got robbed and I was sitting 20 feet away from him at my desk and didn't even notice. It was great!

Heidi E. said...

That is terrible.. Im so glad that you are safe..

Margee' said...

Wow! Amie! That's scary! I'm so glad no one was hurt.

Erin said...

What a crazy time! I'm glad you were okay.

I love your blog!

SuzanneRenee said...

wow! thats scary..... and amazing that you didn't even KNOW it was going on! Yikes... glad you're safe and glad the kids weren't with you!

Jenna said...

Seriously, everything happens to you!!! How scary. I don't know but there's something about pharmacy's at night that always makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I avoid them at all costs. I'm glad you're ok!

jinxi~ aka angi said...

oh my gosh! Im totally tearing up.. how scary was that!!!
Like you Im so thankful that the dude wasnt taking everyone around him out!
Wow... the times are definitely changing!

Carca said...

Now you have to tell me what Walgreens this was at....I go to Walgreens late at night by myself...all the time...now i am scared!