TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

3 Boys Saw Dad, Uncle Shot In Gulfport Store Robbery

News Channel 8 photo by ANTHONY ALLRED

Two clerks were shot Monday night at the Joy Foodsmart on 49th Street South in Gulfport.

ADVERTISEMENT

By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 23, 2008

Updated: 12/23/2008 03:38 pm

Three young boys witnessed the shooting Monday of two clerks – one their father and the other their uncle – during a convenience-store robbery in Gulfport, police said.

"My dad and my uncle just got shot. Oh my God. Oh my God," the tearful 11-year-old says on a 911 recording Gulfport police released today. "They came in and then they go, and then they go, 'Give us your money. Give us your money.' … And then they really shot him."

Police released the recording and security video from Joy Foodsmart in hopes of catching the gunmen who robbed the store at 1005 49th St. S. about 8:36 p.m. Monday.

The video shows the 11-year-old and his brothers, ages 8 and 10, scrambling onto the floor as one man points a silver revolver at their uncle, 25, before shooting him in the chest.

The boys' father, 43, was shot in the arm, police Lt. Robert Vincent said.

Rescuers transported the wounded men to Bayfront Medical Center. As of Tuesday night, one man was listed in critical condition and the other in fair condition.

They are not being identified by TBO.com because no arrests have been made.

Police are looking for the gunmen. Detectives are comparing notes with the St. Petersburg Police Department on similar shootings this month of 53-year-old Narendra Patel and his brother, Indravadan Patel, in separate convenience-store heists.

"There are a lot of similarities and a lot of differences," Vincent said today, noting it is too soon to speculate whether the same people are involved. "Our detectives are working hand in hand."

Attempts to reach the men's families today were unsuccessful. Personnel at the store declined to speak to a reporter.

Monday, the children's father told investigators he was standing in front of the counter when three men entered the store. After one shot him in the shoulder, the same shooter confronted the other clerk, the children's uncle, who was working the cash register, police said.

On the video, another man grabs cash from the register as the uncle also hands over money. After shooting the uncle, the men leave. One boy then crawls over to the uncle while another presses a button for the silent alarm, the video shows.

Officers responded to the store after the alarm was triggered. They also received a 911 hang-up call, police said.

Vincent didn't know which child had activated the alarm. He said the boy demonstrated "tremendous courage."

Vincent described the robbers as slender black men in their late teens to early 20s. All wore dark hooded sweatshirts and had bandannas over their faces. One bandanna was yellow, black and green and had "Jamaica" printed on it. The gunman used a silver revolver.

Anyone with information should call the Gulfport Police Department at (727) 893-1030 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477.

News Channel 8 reporter Peter Bernard contributed to this report. Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT