Surveillance video shows an armed robbery in Gainesville that took about 25 seconds. For the gas station clerk who stared down the barrels of two guns, it felt much longer.
“He said, ‘Everybody freeze. Give me all the money right now. Open that register,’” Vincent Del Vecchio, clerk at the Texaco on Park Hill Drive, told Channel 2 Action News. “I’m just focused like no sudden moves — don’t frighten them.”
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
The robbery happened last Tuesday, and Gainesville police are searching for three suspects, Channel 2 reported.
Two armed men held up Vecchio and made him empty the cash register while a third masked man ran past him and two customers to grab a 12-pack of beer, owner Shama Jindani told the news station.
Jindani said he and his wife, Shabnam, opened the store seven years ago, but it’s the first time they’ve been robbed.
This incident happened only five days after businessman and philanthropist Jack Hough, 73, was shot and killed outside a nearby CVS, which was also off Park Hill Drive, AJC.com previously reported. DeMarvin Bennett, 24, was arrested three days later, and he faces malice murder and other charges in connection with the deadly shooting.
MORE: 'What is malice murder?' Suspect in businessman's shooting death questions charge
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Gainesville police Chief Jay Parrish told Channel 2 his department is dedicating a patrol officer, undercover officers and K-9 teams to the Park Hill Drive area because of the recent uptick in violent crime.
This was the 10th shooting in the past 30 days in Hall County, the news station reported.
In other news:
About the Author