Five men wearing Halloween masks, armed with laser-guided guns pistol whipped a hardware store manager in front of his 10-year-old son and forced everyone in the store into the basement Sunday in East Harlem.
The gunmen entered the store on East 116th Street just before 3:30 p.m. and pointed black handguns with red lasers on them at the hardware store manager, his 10-year-old son, an employee and four customers, according to the store manager and police.
Three suspects then forced them into the store’s basement while one man acted as a lookout and another man raided the cash register, police confirmed.
The manager, who did not want to be named, said he thought that would be his last time descending the steps to the store’s basement. He tells News 4 that the men had them all lie down on the ground, including his 10-year-old son.
He said he thought everyone in the store was going to die.
When the manager tried to stand up to the robbers, they pistol whipped him as his son begged for mercy.
The suspects demanded the manager give them a key to the safe, but he said he didn’t have one. They then rifled through the register stealing nearly $1,000 dollars, along with some of the customers’ wallets and cell phones.
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When the victims finally heard the store go silent, they raced upstairs and called police.
Sources tell News 4 one of the victim’s cellphones was possibly recovered nearby.
Still shaken by the traumatic robbery, the manager said he will never again take his son to work.
Anyone with information on the suspects is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.
