A masked armed robber held up an Arizona toy store as kids were playing in the aisles, newly released surveillance footage shows.
The gun-wielding crook entered Teddy Bears El Paraiso in Mesa on April 16 around 1:30 p.m. and ordered six customers, including children as young as 8 years old, into the corner while he demanded cash and checks from store manager, Eliseo Francisco.
Francisco was behind the register with his 9-year-old son, reported KPHO-TV.
“You can tell when someone has the intention to do a lot of harm,” Francisco told the news outlet of the thief. “I saw that in his eyes.”
Francisco knew he would be shot if he did not comply, and handed over around $800 in cash.
“I gave him everything so [he] wouldn’t hurt anyone,” he told Fox 10 Phoenix.
The toy store also provides money transfers to other countries, which is why Francisco believes it was targeted, although he says it doesn’t typically keep much cash in the register.
The search for the suspect continues and a $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest, according to a flier released on Friday by Silent Witness, a non-profit Phoenix program that allows for anonymous tips to law enforcement.
“He should be considered armed and dangerous,” the flier warned as it described the man seen in the video.
“I would feel more calm when he’s arrested and not able to do this again,” Francisco told KPHO-TV.
The experience still rattles him, he told Fox 10. “Everytime someone came into the door, I [feel] like it was someone [who was there] to rob me,” he said.
Since the incident, a metal barrier was put up around the register and a new door chime was installed.
Anyone with information is asked to call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS, or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish.
