Irving police are on the lookout for a bold thief who held up a clerk at the Family Dollar store on East Grauwyler Road.
Surveillance footage from the Dec. 3 robbery shows the thief walking into the store and first checking the aisles, apparently looking to see if any other customers were around.
Then he goes up to the counter and demands money. The clerk later told NBC 5 at first she thought the man was joking.
But the thief whipped out a handgun even as a mother and child unknowingly lined up behind him.
The clerk calmly handed the suspect cash from the register before he left without pulling the trigger.
“She did exactly what police tell store clerks to do, and that is give the robber anything they want,” said NBC 5 law enforcement expert, Don Peritz. Peritz worked with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office for decades.
Peritz said the fact that children were present at the time of the heist is troubling.
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“If any part of this robbery goes horribly bad they have the potential of being seriously injured or killed,” he said.
Peritz encourages families to be alert this holiday shopping season.
“The best thing they can do is either cooperate with whatever he wants or get out of the way,” he advises.
If you know the suspect's identity, contact Irving police at 972-273-1010.
