My parents own a milkbar, and yesterday two masked men came in and robbed the store. One shooed out a customer and the other went up to the cash register and held a gun to my mother’s head.
They got around $300 in cash, but my parents think that business was also affected by the fact that there were police investigating for a little while afterwards. Obviously it’s not about the money - no amount of money is worth my mother’s life, and I hate, hate, HATE those two men because that’s how much they valued her - a wonderful woman who has worked her entire life and is a gorgeous, loving parent. Mum is pretty shaken up, and she called my sister to tell her to be careful next time she bought petrol. They already have a security system installed with cameras and stuff, but I think they’re in the process of getting better locks now.
I don’t really know what else to say. I can’t believe there are people who believe $300 is worth terrorising someone, and maybe killing them. My mother is worth ten thousand of those fuckers. Actually, no. An infinite amount, because they aren’t worth anything, and will never be worth anything, and the world would be better off without them - they’re disgusting wastes of flesh who do nothing but think society owes them a free ride. Yeah, they’re real big tough men who came in and threatened a middle-aged woman with a gun. They somehow think they’re entitled to this money, despite the fact that my parents earned it with their hard work. Because of that, I hope that every second of those maggots’ miserable lives is filled with an acute awareness of how worthless they really are. Because they put a FUCKING GUN TO MY MOTHER’S HEAD, I hope they die.
It’s always so… invasive to be threatened in a place that you thought was safe. It never feels quite the same again. I’m very glad that your mom is okay.
It was my 16th birthday, two days before christmas in 1979, when my Mom was in a little storefront bank. She moved through the line of people waiting for an available teller while she filled out paperwork. When she reached the front of the line she was still looking down when she suddenly noticed that things had gotten very quiet.
There was a young man standing next to her with a gun pointed at her forehead. Another man was at the counter with a bag getting money from the tellers. The place was dead quiet when suddenly the silence was broken.
A woman came out from a back room and yelled out, “Hey George, why is the silent alarm on?”
“Uh, we’re being robbed, Marge.”
Luckily this didn’t phase the robbers who were nothing but professional. They finished their work, yelled out “Merry Christmas everybody” and left. The whole thing lasted less than ten minutes.
Whenever I remember the story, I am always way more angry at Marge than the robbers.
Thanks for the wellwishes; I really appreciate it. It’s pretty much the only support I’m getting at the moment - I haven’t told any of my friends since one of them just buried his mother, and as bad as this is, it just doesn’t compare. Parents are larger-than-life creatures; they aren’t meant to die or be hurt, you know?
I keep thinking of different scenarios about how if I’d only been there, things would have turned out different. I would have faked an asthma attack then kicked him in the groin, I would have fought back and had them ready for when the cops came over, I would have been smart and superhero-like. :rolleyes: Obviously I would have done exactly what mum did since it was the only safe thing to do - I would have been furious with her if she’d risked her life. I remember my dad telling me several months ago about how there had been a robbery at a petrol station (not near us - maybe Sydney?) where the attendant had done everything right - he hadn’t fought, he’d given them exactly what they wanted - and they still shot him.
I don’t know if they’re going to be caught. There are multiple cameras in the milkbar, but they came in masked so the police don’t have any footage of their faces.
It’s sort of like a neighbourhood general store that sells the same sort of stuff as a supermarket. But smaller, and pretty much the owners always work behind the counter.
You’re askin’ the wrong person. I once worked in a convenience store, and quit because of a string of convenience store robberies where the robbers shot the clerk in a nearby city.
The idea of risking my freedom for three hundred bucks is pretty silly, to me.
The idea of murdering someone and risking life imprisonment or execution for three hundred bucks is insane, to me.
And the penalties for armed robbery are stiff enough that I can’t say I’ve ever been tempted. Or desperate enough. Do these idiots really get away with it often enough that this is considered a reasonable way to get beer money in some neighborhoods?
I used to participate in a variety of illegal activity when I was a teenager. During these activities there were several times I pointed a gun at someone. Everything changed the very first time someone pointed a gun at me. I was able to feel what it was like to have the business end of the gun pointed at me. I was scared beyond belief. I had never, and have never since been so scared. From that moment on I have never even touched a gun (and I grew up and stopped my illegal activities). I guess you could say I was “scared straight”.
I am glad that your mom is ok, I hope they catch the crooks. The mindset that it takes to point a gun at someone for anything other than self defense is a very dangerous one. Things could have been much, much worse. Thank heavens it ended without a casualty or fatality.
There are multiple cameras in the milkbar, but they came in masked so the police don’t have any footage of their faces.