MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) - One day after a man made a large purchase at a cellphone store in Miramar, he returned to the business and pulled out a gun on the staff, claiming the units he bought didn’t work.
The angry customer, identified as “Jeff” by police and witnesses, walked into the store, located along the 3000 block of South State Road 7, and brandished a firearm, Sunday.
Surveillance video captured the chilling moment.
“OK, here’s what we gonna do, OK?” he said as he cocked the gun. “Here’s the situation, right?”
The gunman then demanded to fill a red bag with the victims’ personal cellphones.
“Put the phone in the bag, put the phone in the bag, right in the bag!” he is heard shouting in the video.
The store’s owner, who asked not to be identified, said Jeff and other customers had purchased what turned out to be fake cellphones at another location, but he chose to take out his frustration on his store.
“He literally closed the door behind himself and holding the two persons that were here hostage at gunpoint while an infant was here,” he said.
One of the women in the store could be heard mentioning her baby son sleeping in the back, but the gunman appeared too upset to listen.
What makes this turn of events even stranger is that the man was friendly with the employees at the shop when he purchased the phones on Saturday.
“My people!” he said upon entering the store, his arms outstretched.
As he interacted with the staff, the man’s joyous mood did not waver.
“I heard they had a sale. I had to come running,” he said.
Before he left on Saturday, he hugged the same woman he ended up haggling while armed one day later.
Video from Sunday’s incident then shows the gunman barking commands as he pointed the gun, even calling one of the employees by name.
“Put your phone in the bag! Put your [expletive] phone in the bag!” he said.
The female employee then began arguing with Jeff.
“Now? At the end of the day you take that phone? What is that gonna do?” she said as she dropped her phone in the bag.
“It ain’t just me. I’m gonna take what I need in here!” he said.
The employee then tried to talk some sense into the gunman, to no avail.
“Come on, man! I don’t feel like you’re being smart right now,” she said. “You gave me a hug yesterday. We ain’t have no problems. I still don’t have no problems with you.”
“I already told you, I ain’t got no problem with you,” said Jeff.
But several minutes later, Jeff had a change of heart. He left the bag filled with phones at the store and walked out empty-handed.
Witnesses said they don’t know who Jeff is or where he is but added that he hangs out at a nearby barber shop.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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