This is the terrifying moment a group of thieves wearing balaclavas storm a barbershop with assault rifles.
The four heavily armed suspects entered the Yadiel Barbershop on Main Street in Patterson, New Jersey, around 2 p.m. Friday and robbed five people inside.
According to police, they used the weapons to overpower employees and customers in the store, while stealing money, jewelry, phones and key rings. ABC 7 New York.
One of the men, dressed all in black and with his face covered, entered the store with a long gun pointed at his chest as he walked toward a barber who was cutting a customer’s hair.
The barber calmly took off his bracelet and gave it to the man.
Surveillance footage shows two others harassing a man outside the store, while two others entered the store.
Four heavily armed suspects entered the Yadiel Barbershop on Main Street in Patterson, New Jersey, armed with guns around 2 p.m. Friday and robbed five people.
The owner, who wished to remain anonymous, told News 12 New Jersey the men stole about $1,200 in cash, a bracelet and a necklace.
The owner, who did not want to be named, said News 12 New Jersey that the men stole approximately $1,200 in cash, a bracelet and a necklace.
The brazen thieves then fled in a silver Nissan Murano.
City Councilman Luis Velez, who spoke with the store owner, said he was “lucky” and “glad he didn’t make a wrong move” when the robbery occurred.
Mayor Andre Sayegh called the attack “unprecedented” and “shameless.”
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” Mayor Andre Sayegh told ABC 7 New York.
“In broad daylight, right by our cathedral, around school time,” he said incredulously.
Sayegh is now calling for local police to take control of the New Jersey Attorney General’s office. The attorney general’s office took control last year when it investigated a fatal police shooting involving a mentally ill suspect, according to ABC 7.
City Councilman Luis Velez, who spoke with the store owner, said they “feel lucky” and “are glad they didn’t make a wrong move” when the robbery occurred.
It’s beyond rude and it’s time for [Attorney General] “Matt Platkin’s failed political experiment is coming to an end,” Sayegh told News 12.
However, Platkin said crime in Patterson has decreased since the attorney general’s office took over in March 2023. Sayegh claims crime was already down before the redistricting.
The shooting at the barbershop was the second in the area that day. Another robbery happened around 10:30 a.m. a few blocks away on Slater Street, ABC 7 reported.
The victim involved in the first robbery reported that two armed men, dressed in black and wearing ski masks, approached him and demanded money. They also took jewelry and the victim’s phone.
It is unclear whether the two robberies are related.
“I’m at a loss for words, and that doesn’t happen very often,” resident and activist Ernest Rucker told North Jersey.com. “I couldn’t believe what I saw. The audacity of it, that was something else,” he said of the second robbery.
Just a few weeks ago, city officials announced a $1.7 million plan to add more officers to patrol the city to keep it safe. However, that stretch of Main Street was not included, the local outlet reported.