Store owner says robbers told his family ‘if you move, I will kill you’

CHARLOTTE — A family was held at gunpoint inside their northwest Charlotte store Friday as masked robbers stole $16,000 in cash.

The owner of the Tienda y Taqueria Los Pichones bodega shared surveillance video with Channel 9′s Anthony Kustura. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is searching for the masked gunmen who are responsible.

It happened Friday around 5 p.m. at the store, which is on Brookshire Boulevard near North Hoskins Road.

Felipe Sanchez said his mother-in-law and two daughters were working when the thieves came through the back.

He said his mother-in-law was in shock when the thieves said, “If you move, I will kill you.”

Surveillance video captured the suspects as they rushed through the business before leaving with the cash.

Sanchez sells everything, from hats to home goods to fresh fruits and vegetables.

“Explain to me why you had that much money in the store in that time?” Kustura asked.

“Because we have money services,” Sanchez said.

According to Sanchez, his customers are primarily from Spanish-speaking countries, just like he is. They use his shop to wire transfer money back to their families in South and Central America or Mexico. But Sanchez hadn’t made the deposits yet on that payday Friday, making his store an easy target.

He’s now left scrambling for answers.

“We don’t know if we have to pay that $16,000,” he said.

So far, CMPD hasn’t made any arrests in this case.

Sanchez has been at his shop every day since to protect it and his family. He has a message for the people responsible.

“We’re in this country to work, why don’t they go find a job and work like everyone else?”

Sanchez said thieves targeted his store just a few months ago too. In that case, they only made off with a few hundred dollars and didn’t use weapons.

Kustura asked CMPD if the cases could be connected.

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