MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A 70-year-old security guard was pushed to the ground and locked inside a bathroom during a robbery last week at Worley Auto Parts in Southwest Memphis.
Police are looking for two men caught on camera searching the office of the business on New Horn Lake Road and stealing a cashbox and cash register.
Investigators said the armed robbers cut a hole in the side of the fence surrounding Worley and pried open the office door. Once inside, the security guard said they pointed a gun at him, pushed him down, and locked him inside the restroom.
The robbers blocked the bathroom door with a welding machine, but the security guard was able to free himself and call 911.
Worley Auto Parts employees said the thieves got about $1,250 from a cash box hidden in the office and an undetermined amount of money from the cash drawer.
This is at least the fourth business robbery in Memphis over the last month, where armed robbers have forced their way inside and threatened employees before leaving with cash.
On September 27, three robbers followed an employee into the Cook Out restaurant on Elvis Presley Boulevard, pointed guns at all the workers and made them lie on the floor.
The trio got away with three cash tills and a clear plastic container filled with money. Police said they have one of the suspects in custody.
On September 29, three armed, masked men robbed the Jack Pirtle’s Chicken on South Bellevue Boulevard.
Friday, MPD released pictures of the suspects who ambushed someone taking out the trash and forced their way into the restaurant.
Police said the robbers also made employees get on the floor and took cash from a safe.
On October 18, two armed robbers hit the Cook Out on Union Avenue in Midtown.
According to a police report, the manager was cleaning the kitchen with two other employees when they heard a loud noise coming from the front of the restaurant.
When they got to the dining area, they saw the glass in the front door had been shattered, and two men walking toward them with guns.
Police said the suspects jumped the counter, ordered the manager to open the safe, and forced employees to the ground. They got away with almost $1,400.
The Memphis Data Hub shows there have been 240 business robberies in the Memphis area so far this year. That compares to 206 during the same period in 2022.
If you have any information that can help police with their investigations of these robberies, call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.