Police in Pennsylvania are looking for a man who allegedly robbed a store clerk at gunpoint, only to give the money back because it wouldn’t cover his daughter’s kidney transplant.
KYW-TV reports that the armed suspect entered 1 Stop Smoke Shop in Philadelphia and approached the female clerk behind the counter while waving a handgun. The clerk said she handed the suspect a couple of hundred dollars when he abruptly put away his gun and claimed it wouldn’t be enough to pay for his daughter’s operation.
While the would-be robber returned the money and left without injuring anyone, police told the news station that he still broke the law.
“I don’t know what he’s referring to, don’t know if he has a daughter who has some sort of medical need, but he still is in violation of the law for committing a robbery even though he didn’t walk away with anything,” Philadelphia police Captain Sekou Kinebrew said.
Law enforcement sources told KYW-TV that they possibly know the suspect’s identity and are interested in learning about his daughter’s situation as they may be able to provide assistance.
“If you are going to commit a robbery, I guess the best type of robbery to commit is one where you don’t complete it and change your mind,” the police captain said.
“I think for willing to use the gun or taking it out of his pocket, he should be punished for that, but in the same time, as a society, we should do something to help people like that and not push him to the edge where they have to use a gun.”
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[Featured image: KYW-TV video screengrab]
