Surveillance footage shows armed man rob Penn Avenue business

PITTSBURGH — Police have released surveillance footage of an armed robbery from earlier this month at the Cricket Wireless store in East Liberty.

Authorities were dispatched to the Penn Avenue store Sept. 6 around 5:30 p.m. for the report of a robbery.

A store employee told police that a young black male with a pistol robbed the store.

According to police, the employee said the robber pulled out a blue plastic shopping bag and said, "Put the pop in the bag."

The robber fled the business on foot with an undetermined amount of cash from the register, detectives said.

“The girl that was working here that day is on indefinite leave because of what happened,” store owner Danny Shah said.

Shah told Channel 11’s Renee Kaminski that his stores in East Liberty, Bloomfield and Lawrenceville have been robbed eight times over the past two years. He said he’s especially upset because of the negative impact it has on his employees.

“We tell (the employees) to have courage and we tell them not to restrain so they do what they think is best,” Shah said.

The robber was described as a black male about 18-25 years old. He stood about 6 feet tall and weighed about 160 pounds. Police said he had a short afro, goatee and black glasses.

Anyone who can identify the man is asked to contact the PBP Robbery Squad at 412-323-7151. Callers may remain anonymous.

WPXI