Police are looking for a trio of bandits who posed at potential renters Wednesday to rob a home near Georgia Tech.
The men were dressed in road construction attire, with yellow hard hats and yellow reflective vests, when they robbed the home in the 1000 block of Hemphill Avenue, police said.
Earlier Wednesday, the homeowners showed the house in the 1000 block of Hemphill Avenue to a man saying he wanted to rent the location, police said. The man left, saying he’d return later with his roommate, police said.
The man came back sometime before 1:30 p.m. with a friend, and the homeowners led both men through the home, Atlanta Police spokesman Sgt. Curtis Davenport said.
“As the two men were leaving, both the suspects pulled guns out and forced the victims into a back room,” Davenport said.
A third man joined the gunmen and the three bandits rummaged through the home, stealing two handguns, a shotgun, several laptops, an iPhone and a book bag, police said.
After some time, the four victims said they didn’t hear anything from the front of the house and emerged from the back room and called police.
Police described all three bandits as black males with Caribbean accents between the ages of 25 and 30.
One suspect was about 6-feet-3-inches tall, with a bald head, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.
A second suspect was 6 feet tall with a heavy build, jeans and a brown T-shirt and a tattoo of a red, white and blue flag with a star in the middle.
The third suspect was 6 feet and cleanshaven with dark a complexion, jeans and a green shirt.
The Georgia Tech area has been plagued of late with crime, prompting Atlanta and Georgia Tech police to step up patrols.
“We’re looking into matching this with descriptions of similar type acts,” Davenport said.
A real estate agent was killed last February showing a man a luxury Midtown high rise condo.
Davenport left a warning for people showing homes to perfect strangers.
“We’re living in a time where robberies are a prevalent crime in our country, not only in Atlanta,” he said. “I would caution everyone to use your common sense. If it doesn’t feel right, just follow your gut feeling.”
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