Posted on 03/15/2012 2:47:58 AM PDT by marktwain
ST. PAUL, Minn. - A camera inside a store on St. Paul’s East Side captured images of a would-be armed robber who hit a young girl at the counter during his failed attempt at holding up the business. Now, police are hoping to find him before he strikes again.
Owner Ying Thao takes pride in caring for his customers at the Corner Express, and Thao wanted to protect them when a robber walked in with a gun.
Thao recalled, “He said, 'All I need is your money. Give me your money before I blow you up.'”
Surveillance video from inside the store gives police a clear picture of the culprit. But as if trying to rob a store isn’t bad enough, the video also shows the robbery suspect swinging out his elbow and hitting a little girl in the head.
Thao told FOX 9 News the girl and her sister were waiting for their mother, who was also in the store at the time.
The suspect didn’t give up easily, either. Video shows him jumping up on the counter and sliding through a glass window, even pointing a gun at the store owner; however, Thao had a gun too.
Still, Thao said he worried if he shot at the robber, someone else could get hurt too.
“I decided to shoot at the floor,” Thao said, adding that he hoped to scare the man off.
St. Paul police are hoping the surveillance video leads them to the suspect.
“This is an individual who was so focused in on what his original intent was that he was oblivious, seemingly, to the people around him,” St. Paul Police Spokesman Howie Padilla said.
Police say no one was seriously hurt during the robbery attempt. The suspect did not get away with any cash.
Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call St. Paul police at 651-266-5650.
Shooting into the floor was an incredibly stupid thing to do; wholly irresponsible.
If you pull a weapon, by God USE it to stop your attacker. Aim for center-of-mass and drop his ass. Warning shots are for movies; not real life.
The owner of the store sounds like a nice guy, but he’d best get himself to some real arms training.
His attacker WILL be back now that the owner showed timidity in the use of his weapon. Dumb dumb dumb dumb.
Not to mention that in most cities, retail establishments are often not built on slabs. There could easily have been people in the lower level. Shooting into the floor could have been shooting into their ceiling or maybe even a gas line.
When one has a handy and perfectly good felon to use for a backstop there is no excuse for needless property damage.
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