Fort Worth family flees Family Dollar during armed robbery

A mother was in the midst of checking out at a Family Dollar in east Fort Worth on Sunday when a man walked in past her little girl and pointed a gun in the cashier’s face, store manager Ruben Cabrao said.

The Family Dollar at 901 Bridgewood Drive was robbed about 11 a.m., just an hour after another Family Dollar was hit just four miles away, according to Fort Worth police reports.

Cabrao said he was at church when he got the call and rushed to the store.

Surveillance footage shows a man pulling out a silver semiautomatic handgun upon walking in and then pointing it in the cashier’s face, Cabrao said.

“He pointed the gun at her about two to three times,” Cabrao said. “The last time he did it for no reason. He already had the till and some cigarettes.”

The mother and father were the only customers at the time. They grabbed their little girl and ran out, he said. The cashier was the only employee in the front of the store.

The assistant manager was in the back, and the robber was inside for about three minutes, leaving little time for the other employee to witness the robbery, Cabrao said.

Officers responded to the earlier robbery at 10:03 a.m. at the Family Dollar at 6156 Ramey Ave.

A suspect in a gray shirt and black pants walked in and demanded money, according to a police report. An employee called to report that the store was being robbed and put the phone down.

Cabrao said the man who robbed his location was wearing a gray hoodie and a white cover on his face. He said he appeared to be in his 20s, about 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 180 pounds.

Police provided few details on the first robbery.

The store manager referred questions to the company’s district manager, who referred questions to corporate headquarters, which was closed.

No injuries were reported.

“Robbery detectives are talking to all possible witnesses and victims to determine if there is a connection between each incident,” officer Daniel Segura said in a Sunday email.

Cabrao said outside surveillance footage shows the man fleeing on foot to a getaway vehicle.

He said the suspect must not live in the neighborhood because he would have recognized him.

“We used to be a target store where they [robbers] stole a lot, and within this year we had it turned around,” Cabrao said. “It’s all how you approach folks. We’ve got a lot of good people here. A lot of families come in here. This sure is a damage to our community.”

Police continued their search for the robber Sunday afternoon.

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This story was originally published May 1, 2016 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Fort Worth family flees Family Dollar during armed robbery."