A man pulled out a gun on shoppers in a Morrisons store in Solihull, West Midland. Customers were heard shouting 'is it real' and 'what's going on' as the suspect brandished the weapon.
Police investigating the incident say the man was on a broad-daylight robbery spree in the town centre. The suspect was being chased out of Morrisons when he 'stopped, pulled out a gun and held it up towards everyone' outside the store on Saturday afternoon (March 5), Birmingham Live reports.
Shaken mum Christine Thorpe found herself 'looking down the barrel' as the gunman had it only three metres away from her at around 4.45pm. The 66-year-old was left 'frozen with fear' as other panicked customers at the George Road store shouted 'is it real' and 'what's going on here'.
Armed police were dispatched to the scene after the force received reports of a shoplifter trying to rob three stores in 'quick succession'. The suspect also demanded money at F.Hinds Jewellers and Robert Dyas - as well as the supermarket.
He managed to take a small amount of cash from a till at Robert Dyas during the string of incidents between 4.30pm -5pm, police said.
Too shaken to speak after the ordeal, Christine's son Kane Platt told BirminghamLive : "This chap has basically gone into Morrisons, been chased out and then just turned around and pulled a gun out on everyone.
"He ran past [my mum], security in chase, he then stopped, turned around and pulled the gun out. He was probably about three to five metres away.
"Everyone was outside, he pulled it out, two hands on it and pointed it at everyone and was shouting. He was just holding it up and pointing it at them, anger in his face.
"If someone runs past you, a gun gets pulled out, you assume the worst could happen. She was frozen with fear so she wasn't really thinking at the time, just trying to register what was happening.
"It was probably about ten seconds and everyone was like 'what's going on here', people were shouting 'is it real' and the security must have just tried to pounce on him then he just ran."
The gun was described as a black pistol, which appeared real as Christine "looked down the barrel".
He continued: "It didn't have a red tip on it like some of the BB guns have on them. It looked as real, she thought as she looked down the barrel of it.
"He must have obviously bailed on it, put it away and was chased off by the security. He ran off across the car park."
Christine, who was doing her weekly shop at the time, then called her son to check he was on his way - and when he arrived the gunman had already fled the scene.
"She's trying to play it down, but she's quite shook by it. She was shook up. She is in shock," he added.
"My mum said he looked really odd and she got a really weird feeling from him as he walked past. He was really on edge and quite strange."
West Midlands Police said no arrests have yet been made and officers are looking at CCTV today as part of the probe. Anyone with information was urged to contact the force as soon as possible as the hunt continues.
A statement from West Midlands Police read: "We were called to Solihull town centre yesterday afternoon (5 March) after a shoplifter attempted to rob three stores in quick succession.
"The suspect, armed with what appeared to be a pistol, demanded money at F. Hinds Jewellers, Morrisons and Robert Dyas. He managed to take a small amount of cash from a till at Robert Dyas. Nothing was taken from the other two stores. The incidents all happened between 4.30pm – 5pm.
"Armed officers were immediately sent out but no arrests have been made. We’re looking at CCTV today as part of ongoing enquiries.
"If you were there, or have any other information that could help us please drop us a message via Live Chat on our website www.west-midlands.police.uk or call us on 101.
"If you want to remain 100% anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Tell them what you know, not who you are. Crime number 20 / 274931 / 22 ."
BirminghamLive has contacted Morrisons for a comment on the incident.
