A great-grandfather was held up outside a bank in downtown Douglasville on Sunday morning while getting cash for the collection plate at his church, authorities said.
The attempted armed robbery occurred at the Regions Bank on Church Street shortly after 7:30 a.m., Douglasville police said.
Amos Entrekin, 74, had just returned to his car with his 10- and 12-year-old great-grandsons in the backseat when a man in a ski mask walked over to him, aimed a gun at his face and demanded the money he withdrew, Entrekin told Channel 2 Action News.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
“I was fixing to pull off and he run over to the car and popped a gun right there in my face and said, ‘Give me money,’” Entrekin said.
Entrekin said he typically carries a firearm, but he didn’t have time to get to his gun.
Concerned for the safety of both himself and his family, the great-grandfather floored the gas pedal and sped away.
“I just hit the gas and took off ... I thank the Lord nothing happened to us,” Entrekin told the news station. “It could have been worse.”
Police say the suspect caught on the bank’s surveillance footage may be responsible for two other armed robberies that occurred at Douglasville ATMs this summer, one on June 14 and the other Aug. 1.
Entrekin told the news station the man who tried to rob him on his way to church “needs to get a job.”
“He’s (already) robbed two other people,” he said. “Robbing people is not a job.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Douglasville detectives at 770-920-3010. Police are also asking residents to remain vigilant and not withdraw cash if they observe anything suspicious near their ATM.
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