MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Police asked for the public’s help Monday in finding a man who shot at an ATM customer on April 10 in Raleigh.
It happened at the First Tennessee Bank on Yale Road just after midnight.
Surveillance footage released by showed an armed man ambush another man who’s in his car trying to withdraw money.
“As he was sticking his card through the ATM a guy came up behind him with a gun and told him don’t move. He told me, ‘Mom. The only thing I could think about was pressing on the gas and leaving,'” the victim’s mother Cynthia Lenson said.
The man fired and shot the victim as he sped off. But he only made it across Yale Road into another parking lot, where he crashed his car in to a light pole.
“His body went numb. That’s what made him crash. His car flipped,” Lenson said.
Police said two witnesses helped the victim and called 911. Paramedics didn’t realize until they got to the hospital that the victim had been shot in the neck, Lenson said.
Lenson said doctors left the bullet in his neck because it’s too close to his spine. Her son is sore and has severe anxiety, taking it day by day. She said her son just got married in October and was hoping to make her a grandmother soon.
“Being my only child, I just thank the Lord I wasn’t planning a funeral,” she said.
Lenson said her son works 12-hour shifts and was probably taking out cash so he wouldn’t have to do it early the next morning.
Still, she said the incident reminder her and others of a lesson they already knew.
“Never go to the ATM and try not to get gas at night either, especially if you’re by yourself,” said Marvina Bennett, who used the ATM Monday during the day.
“Do not go to the teller at night. That’s the only thing I can tell people,” Lenson said.
If you can identify the suspect, call Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH. You could earn up to $1,000 if you provide information that leads to an arrest. You can also make an anonymous tip.