VIDEO: Armed thieves storm pawn shop, steal weapons, jewelry
DENVER - Surveillance video shows the moments two armed masked men stormed a Denver pawn shop, robbing it of more than a dozen handguns and jewelry, reports CBS Denver.
The men, wearing black hoodies and bandanas over their faces, can be seen on video entering through the back of the store on July 13, with their guns drawn. The surveillance footage was released by investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The suspects held store employees at gunpoint and threatened to kill them, according to the ATF. They allegedly ordered staff to empty a register and fill a bag with cash. They then allegedly grabbed jewelry and at least 14 guns from a glass case.
Investigators said one of the robbers thrust a gun into an employee's ribs and ordered him to the ground. None of the employees were hurt in the incident, which ATF Special Agent Ron Humphries said is the first robbery of a licensed gun dealer in Colorado this year.
"Brazen is probably a perfect word to describe what these two individuals did," Humphries said.
Humphries said the incident was particularly concerning, because the robbers were apparently undeterred by the fact that gun dealers are typically armed themselves. He also noted that the robbery took place in the morning when the store was open and anyone could have walked in.
One suspect is described as between 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-4 and weighing more than 200 pounds. The other was 5-foot-8 and thin, and in the video he's seen wearing what appears to be a purple brimmed Colorado Rockies hat. They were also driving a white 1990s Honda that had no license plates and missing center hubcaps.
Federal agents say this may not be the suspects' first robbery and warn they may be getting more bold.
"We very well could be looking at an armed crew that's hitting at least three places that we've seen similar connections," Humphries said.
The ATF is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects.