Decatur police seek robber with car 'emitting a loud knocking noise'

Police in Decatur are searching for an armed robber who struck in a typically peaceful neighborhood and fled in a car with a loud "knocking" sound.

The suspect — described as a young, thin black man in a white hockey mask — held up a man late Monday in the Lenox Place area, city police Lt. Jennifer Ross said in a Tuesday news release. The victim was on a bike near the intersection of Devonshire and Melrose avenues when the suspect approached around 11:50 p.m.

"The suspect exited the front passenger side of the vehicle and pointed a handgun at the victim," Ross said. "The victim fell backwards to the ground and the suspect began going through his pockets and took his cell phone/wallet case.  The suspect got back into the vehicle and the vehicle sped off south on Melrose Avenue."