The normal quiet of a northwest Atlanta library was shattered last week when two gunmen came in and robbed the library staff and patrons.
Seven people were in the Perry Homes branch of the Atlanta-Fulton County Public Library System on Bolton Road when the hold-up happened last Friday afternoon.
Saudia Roberts told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she was about to power off her computer and head home when two men walked into the library with guns.
She said both men looked to be in their late 30s or early 40s and had on a lot of clothing despite the summer heat. She said one suspect had a thin line for a beard.
Atlanta police said each suspect was wearing a white ballcap, blue jeans, a burgundy shirt and white sneakers.
“They looked grimy,” Roberts said.
The two men refused to let anybody leave and said that “this was a robbery.” Roberts screamed to alert the other patrons.
Glen Fortenberry heard her.
“I heard a woman scream and I looked around, and a guy said, ‘You know what this is, get on the ground. Don’t look at me,’” said Fortenberry, who was also at a computer when the robbers entered.
Fortenberry told Channel 2 that he turned around to find a gun pointed at his face.
“I went in my pocket and gave him all my change,” Fortenberry said.
“He said, ‘I know you got some dollars,’” Fortenberry told the station. “I said take it easy man. Be patient. I’m getting my wallet out now.”
Roberts said the suspects stole mostly personal items like purses and cell phones. She lost her smartphone, Georgia ID and $10 in cash during the robbery, according to the incident report.
The Perry Homes library does not have any security cameras installed around its building or security guards, according to Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System spokeswoman Kelly Robinson Vann.
But the library is looked after by a security services manager and periodically patrolled by a police officer from the Fulton County Police Department Vann said.
Perry Homes library has an alarm system complete with an emergency button that should contact Atlanta police when it’s pushed.
“[Atlanta Police Department] and 911 Communications have both confirmed that the original response was sent out based on the panic button alert,” Robinson said.
The Perry Homes library opened late on Tuesday afternoon as a result of the robbery on Friday.
Perry Homes patron Shaun Simms came to the library at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday to try to print out his resume. An employee handed him a list of other libraries open in the area.
Simms said he comes to the library often. He wasn’t at the library during the robbery on Friday, but he said he would have hoped that Perry Homes would have more security.
“Now-a-days everybody needs security. Everywhere.” he said.
The Perry Homes Branch is a space that has been temporarily leased to the library system while it works to buile a 25,000-square-foot Northwest Atlanta Library, according to Robinson.
No arrests have been made in the robbery.
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