Police released surveillance footage Monday in an attempt to identify the men responsible for a violent armed robbery last week in Brewerytown.
The crime occurred at around 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, at Diaz Grocery, located at 29th and Jefferson streets, according to authorities. Two men entered the store, while a third acted as a lookout, investigators said.
After pulling out handguns and announcing a robbery, the suspects forced two individuals into a back storage room and ordered them to open a safe, law enforcement officials said. During the exchange, one of the men pistol-whipped the store’s owner, causing a large gash below the victim’s eye, the PPD stated.
The security camera video shows the blood from the wound splattered on the floor, as the other victim, a woman, interacts with the gunmen, her hands shaking.
Police said the men were unable to get into the safe and instead ransacked the cash register, taking an estimated $7,000, keys and a cellphone. Investigators said they fled east on Jefferson.
Detectives described one of the suspects as a Black man between the ages of 25 and 30 with a KMSL hooded sweatshirt and a Sprayground backpack. The other individual who entered the store is believed to be a 17- to 20-year-old male with ear-length braids and a black and white Spiderman backpack, according to the PPD.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Central Detective Division at 215-686-3047/3048 or call or text the police tip line anonymously at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
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