Two people, one of them an off-duty Atlanta police sergeant, were robbed at gunpoint Tuesday in similar incidents involving pedestrians, according to police.
An incident involving three suspects took place around 10 p.m. on Edgewood Avenue in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood near downtown, Atlanta police said in a news release. The victim, an off-duty officer, reported that he was robbed by three men.
One of the men grabbed the off-duty officer’s backpack, while two others brandished guns and threatened bystanders before fleeing, police said. No one was injured, and police did not say what was in the backpack.
The officer, who identified himself as Sgt. Cyrus Colley, was leaving dinner with friends when he was robbed, Channel 2 Action News reported. He told the news station he started to chase the first suspect who grabbed his backpack, but backed off when another suspect pointed a gun at his friends.
Security video footage from the scene shows the moment the first suspect grabbed Colley’s backpack and ran away, highlighting the brazenness of the robbery. The footage shows that Edgewood Avenue is bustling, with traffic streaming by and many other bystanders and pedestrians walking on the same sidewalk where Colley’s backpack was taken.
Colley, a 12-year veteran of the police force, said the incident was a valuable reminder for Atlantans to be aware of their surroundings and, should you find yourself a victim of a robbery, to surrender any possessions rather than risk your life.
A second incident took place about two miles away and just an hour earlier, police said. Just before 9 p.m., a woman was sitting in her car on Myrtle Street in Midtown when a man approached her and robbed her at gunpoint. Again, no injuries were reported and police did not detail what was taken.
Police have not said if the two crimes are related.
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