NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Police are searching for the group of crooks who barged into a smoke shop in North Miami Beach and robbed the business at gunpoint.
7News spoke with a witness who frequents the shopping plaza where the robbery took place on Wednesday afternoon.
“People came into the smoke shop with guns and threatened the employees and hurt the employees and robbed the smoke shop,” she said.
The armed robbers barged into the business, located in the area of Northeast 167th Street and Second Avenue, and held up the employees.
“It was extremely terrifying,” said the witness.
Two armed subjects were seen on surveillance video as they hopped out of an SUV, one wearing a blue hoodie and another wearing a mask, and sneaked in through an open back door.
The witness, who asked not to be identified or show her face on camera, said the subjects not only robbed the shop and damaged the business but also beat up the employees.
“They took the cash of the day, and they pointed guns to the poor guys,” said the witness. “They’re just workers; they point the gun into the mouth of one of the guys, they hit them with the gun in the head, and they destroy all the back of the store.”
The armed subjects left the scene in a black Jeep SUV.
Whatever those armed suspects did inside the store forced the owner of Wholesale Smoke Shop to close until next week for remodeling.
The witness who spoke with 7News said the incident has left her in fear.
“It’s very scary, it was 5 p.m. in the middle of the day. This could happen anywhere at any time,” she said, “and I was sitting next door, so imagine if they would have just shot somebody; it could be anybody.”
The subjects remain on the loose, as police continue to investigate.
If you have any information on the robbers’ whereabouts, call North Miami Beach Police at 305-949-5500 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
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