Posted on 12/04/2010 5:55:01 AM PST by Erik Latranyi
One person was hurt when a business was robbed Friday morning in Schuylkill County.
Police were on the scene just a minute after the robbery call came in from the We R Cigarettes store on Mauch Chunk Street.
Investigators said three men wearing Halloween masks entered the business just after the place opened and, at gunpoint, ordered customers to the floor. One of the customers was hit with a gun. The owner was ordered to put all his money in a Santa bag.
"We're easy targets, I guess. Nobody that I know was hurt, expect the one customer. I am alive! I am here," said owner Ed Paperman.
"They did injure one customer that didn't seem to be provoked. They hit him with the weapon. Due to the fact that they displayed weapons and made some threats to the store owner and customers, yeah we believe they are dangerous," said Tamaqua Police Chief Dave Mattson.
"He had the biggest gun I'd ever see. They're telling me it might be an Uzi and told me to give him money right now and he had a big Santa bag," Paperman recounted. "I picked the money up, it was on the floor, and put it in the bag and he screamed at me, 'Give me more money, more money!' and I said I didn't have anymore."
"I was in fear for my life and I am still in fear for my life. I am still shaking and petrified but I really hope they catch these people," said customer Heather Loar.
"This is craziness. This is not happening, crazy," said customer Joe Snyder. "I was very frightened for my life. I honestly thought they were going to walk out the store and start shooting as they left."
The store does a lot of business in cashing checks and selling cigarettes. Police said the bandits only took cash.
"I believe these people knew what they were doing. They came over on a Friday and knew it was going to be a check-cashing day," said customer Mizaell Yarro.
"If they can do that to this place and basically get away with it they can harm innocent people walking down the street," said Robert Gray, a victim's friend.
"The police work hard. They're doing their best but this is around the holidays and people are desperate," said Harold Klinger.
Police would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the bandits' escape.
Mauch Chunk Street is very busy and Chief Mattson said if police had gotten to the store any faster and confronted the robbers, there could have been a shootout and innocent people could have been caught in the crossfire.
This is the police mentality today....mop up the victims and never confront the criminals.
Hysteria. An UZI is not a large weapon.
AV
Police = Crime Historians
That's what masked men do, silly.
Wonder what the Pennsylvania gun laws are like? They do not seem too effective in deterring criminals from carrying weapons. I suspect those laws do a much better job in disarming the law abiding.
Not all. Some save the town and leave a silver bullet when they depart.
Pennsylvania has some of the most gun-owner friendly laws around. No handgun registration, and mostly easy to get concealed carry without training course, fingerprinting, and other garbage.
The victims chose not to have guns, I think.
Pennsylvania has pretty good gun laws. We just passed the Castle Doctrine only to have it vetoed by Democrat Governor Fast Eddie Rendell.
Pennsylvania's problem is we have ineffective police.
Why does he want them caught? If they are cught, the judge will just turn them loose agin.
The only sure way to stop bastards like that is to kill them. Then you don’t have to worry about them. And when that happens, anywhere except Plant City the police get so mad. In Plant City they say, “You got a right to protect yourself.”
Thanks for the info. I had suspected that the state was beset by the sort of laws designed to disarm the peaceful and honest. Those victims might be thinking seriously now about the need to arm themselves.
Pennsylvania also has preemption, which prevents local government from enacting any gun laws. This has stopped cities like Philadelphia from banning all handguns or trying to stop concealed carry.
And the reason you have ineffective police is ... wait, let me guess here ... your taxes are too low!
Bravo for Pennsylvania. No doubt Philly would try to follow the modern national municipal trend of ignoring the 2nd Amendment.
Actually, it is because they are unionized.
Gotta love the lawyers and judges who have made it that way.
Also, don't you love how no description of the perps was given?
If the people from Tamaqua that I've known are representative, though, the place is the armpit of Pennsylvania. Fun fact: although the name sounds like that of an urban girl, it is actually from a Tuscarora king of the Turkey Clan.
Heck, a few miles west in Schuylkill County, these perps would have been trying their stunt in "Guntown."
And even worse, these very same LEOs also want to disarm citizens so that they can’t fight back either.
Second Amendment? Try Pennsylvania Constitution Art. 1, § 21:
The right of the citizens to bear arms in defence of themselves and the State shall not be questioned. [emphasis added]
>> This is the police mentality today....mop up the victims and never confront the criminals.
Yeah, you wouldn’t want to put that six figure pension in danger by (gasp) actually confronting a criminal.
If you’re a cop, you want to spend your career catching speeders and taxpayers breaking EPA laws and stuff like that. WAY safer.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.