A chilling scene unfolded in the early weeks of December when a man found himself staring down the barrel of a gun as suspects commandeered his SUV outside a convenience store in Snellville, Georgia. The Gwinnett County Police released a surveillance photo capturing the moment one of the masked men threatened the victim with a firearm during the December 7 incident on Centerville Highway, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.
According to the Gwinnett County Police Department, the victim had left his keys inside the idling 2014 Jeep Compass as he went inside the store. Upon returning, he was met by two men—one of whom brandished a gun—and attempted to reclaim his vehicle. "One of the suspects told the victim, ‘I’m going to take your vehicle’. When the victim confronts him and tells him he’s not going to take his vehicle, that’s when the suspect becomes more verbally abusive toward him and the gun is displayed," Sgt. Michele Pihera informed FOX 5 Atlanta.
The store's manager Robert Bartolotta had a narrow escape, having interacted with the masked suspect prior to the incident. He recalled to FOX 5 Atlanta a chilling request for cash earlier that evening. "Somebody wearing a mask came up to my window and asked me, ‘Do you have $5 I can get?’" said Bartolotta, who had left work shortly before the crime occurred, noting "It could’ve been me, yes. If I would’ve left three minutes later, I would’ve been on the side of the building with the people who robbed the car. It was very scary."
The suspects, described as being in their early 20s with medium builds, and standing between 5-feet-8-inches to 6-feet tall, remain at large. One was seen wearing a red jacket, the other a black one with a hood. They fled in the Jeep Compass, recognizable by its license plate number P8R-I0T1 and several distinctive stickers on the back, WSB-TV Atlanta reports. The direction they took off in was towards Annistown Road on Ross Road.
Residents with any information are urged to step forward and contact Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta at 404-577-8477. The collaboration of the community is vital to apprehending these men and possibly preventing further incidents of the same violent strain.
