MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Police say a man followed a customer out of a Frayser convenience store to steal his gun and then assaulted him when he wouldn’t give up the weapon.
The victim told officers he was coming out of the Shell Gas Station on Range Line Road Monday afternoon when a young man reached into his pocket and snatched his handgun.
The victim said that when he tried to get the gun back from the robber, the robber struck him in the face with the gun.
Surveillance cameras captured the suspect at the store.
Investigators said the footage showed the suspect following the man out the door, robbing him, and hitting him on the left side of the face with the firearm.
Police said the suspect is seen returning to the convenience store and showing off the stolen gun to a group of friends or acquaintances inside the business.
After he was robbed, the victim told officers he went home to get another gun and came back to the store to confront the robber, but he was gone.
The suspect was last seen running from the business.
Police said the suspect, who is 18- 20 years of age, was wearing a black hoodie and black pants. They said he is known to frequent the Ridgecrest Apartments.
Over the last several months, police have responded to a number of incidents at the complex, including several shootings and a stabbing.
Last week, three men were arrested at the Ridgecrest Apartments after they were spotted in a vehicle loaded with loaded firearms and a bag of drugs.
If you recognize the man in the photographs at the Shell Station, you are urged to call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.