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St. Petersburg businesses on alert after afternoon armed robbery

The gunman was caught on surveillance cameras
Posted at 11:11 PM, Jul 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-12 23:23:24-04

Detectives said Tuesday they're looking for a man who robbed Teresa's Food Store on Monday. The store's surveillance cameras captured the armed robbery.

It happened around 2:30 p.m. The video shows the gunman going through the store toward the two clerks. The St. Petersburg Police Department released roughly two minutes of surveillance video where you see the suspect point a gun at the employees. The video has some audio on it, and the suspect is heard threatening them. The video shows what appears to be a clerk handing over money to the suspect, who then leaves the convenience store.

The armed robbery happened the same day Alex Gregory moved into a building across the street to open St. Pete Scrap Metal. He said he requested help from the police department. He said officers will stop by next week to let him know how he can protect his business and his employees from something similar.

"We definitely hope nothing happens like this around our business," Gregory said.

Steve Bentley owns a shop across the street too, which is located off 30th Avenue North in St. Petersburg.

"It's a very uneasy feeling as a business owner to know if you're going home safe or you're going to work safe," Bentley said.

Bentley said he plans to upgrade his security system because of the armed robbery at Teresa's Food Store.

"You could be the next person. You just don't know," Bentley said. "I hope they catch him."

Officers did not release how much money the suspect stole from the store. If you have any information about the suspect, contact 893-7780.

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