SHOCKING video shows 12-year-old boy armed with gun robbing Michigan gas station
HARTFORD, MICHIGAN: A 12-year-old boy was caught on surveillance camera robbing a Michigan gas station, armed with a gun. Footage shows the boy waiting in line as a customer in front of him pays for gas. Upon reaching the front of the line, he pulls out a 9mm handgun from his black bag, demanding money.
The boy says calmly, "Put the money in the bag!" "Are you serious?" the cashier replies. The boy is then seen firing a round into the ceiling. The woman behind the counter initially flinches and then quickly takes out a bag of money from the safe. She hands it over to the boy and orders him to "get out."
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The boy attempts to reload his gun while leaving, but it jams. One of the shell casings falls to the ground. He then calmly walks out. Soon after the incident, 911 dispatchers received the call about the armed robbery at the Marathon gas station on East Main Street. The gas station is located just one block from the police station. Police picked up the boy soon after.
Hartford, Michigan, USA. 12 year-old boy robs gas station at gunpoint.
— Telegram News Channel (@George62989794) June 4, 2022
A boy calmly pull a pistol from his backpack, point it at a woman and then fire a shot into the ceiling as he robbed a gas station in southwestern Michigan. pic.twitter.com/2qZWkiYZsR
The boy was picked up by Hartford Police Chief Tressa Beltran without incident and charged with armed robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon, and discharge of a firearm in Van Buren County Family Court this week. Officers said that the boy told a schoolmate about his plan to carry out the armed robbery. He reportedly took the gun from his grandfather's locked safe. The boy's grandfather said that he did not know the child could access the safe.
The child attends Hartford Middle School. He is in custody at the Allegan County Juvenile Center at present, and will be kept there until a hearing set to take place later this month.
"I thought he was a kid, not even 10 years old," the store clerk, Jessica, told News Channel 3. He sounded way too calm. I seriously thought it was a prank until I heard the gun go off. Part of me wanted to hold the kid because he has so many problems, then it's hard to feel bad when he did something like this. I always thought if I were robbed I'm giving them the money, no amount of money is worth my life."
"Every day I'm seeing something new at this job. I've been a full-time police officer for 38 years. What really flabbergasted me is that he showed no emotion," Hartford Lt. Mike Prince said. "He told us he didn't do it for the money. He said he would've thrown the money into the sewer. He wouldn't give us an explanation why he did it."
This incident comes amid an ongoing discussion about ways to curb gun violence in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting. A deadly massacre unfolded at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde on May 24 when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos barricaded himself inside a classroom and slaughtered 19 students and two teachers. Police faced sharp criticism for allegedly failing to stop the shooting quickly enough and come to the victims' rescue on time. Ramos was shot dead by an off-duty Customs and Border Protection agent from an elite tactical unit.