Decatur PD sent out two alerts regarding attempted armed robberies in the last 24 hours.  Decaturish reports that DPD hasn’t ruled out that they aren’t connected.

Here’s the first from late last night…

On Thursday, August 4, 2016 at approximately 6:42 pm, Decatur Police responded to a report of gunfire in the 100 block of Mead Road.  Officers arrived in the area and located two males who reported they came to Oakhurst Elementary as a safe place to sell two pair of shoes through a transaction made on a buy/sell app.  They initially met with the potential buyers, two males, behind the school but were worried the transaction was not legitimate and left.  The two males contacted them back and asked that they return to sell the shoes.  They met with one of the potential customers near the adjacent playground but he did not have enough money to pay the agreed upon price.  The second male suddenly appeared from behind the school and fired a gunshot toward the victims.  The victims fled to their vehicle and the suspects fled toward Feld Avenue.  The victims were not struck by the gunshot but one victim sustained a scrape to his thigh after falling down while running.  The suspects were described as follows:

Suspect #1: Black male, late teens-early 20’s, slender build, approximately 5’6″-5’9″, light complexion, wearing dark shorts, a light colored shirt and Nike shoes.

Suspect #2: Black male, late teens-early 20’s, stocky build, approximately 6” tall, medium complexion, wearing dark pants, a blue or black hooded sweatshirt and armed with a black handgun.

Please exercise extreme caution when arranging to meet to conduct purchases made through online websites and apps.  The front lobby of the Decatur Police Department is open 24 hours a day and can easily be used as a meeting place.  If a seller refuses to meet at a police department, you may want to avoid making the purchase.  Trust your instincts and back out of any meeting or transaction where you feel suspicious or unsafe.

And here’s the second…

On Thursday, August 4, 2016 at approximately 10:58 pm, Decatur Police responded to the front lobby of the police department in reference to a previous armed robbery. The complainants reported that both of their daughters had been victims of an armed robbery attempt. The two victims, who are 15 and 16-years-old, reported that at approximately 10:00 pm they were walking northbound within the crosswalk on Church Street at its intersection with Forkner Drive when they observed the two suspects quickly approaching them from behind. Both of the suspects started shouting, “Give me your phone, and your wallet!” One suspect was initially pointing a handgun at the ground while they demanded the cell phone and wallet. The victims became upset, started crying and started shouting, “No please don’t!”.  The armed suspect pointed the handgun towards them and again demanded the wallet and cell phone. The victims began screaming at which point both suspects fled on foot southbound on Forkner Drive. The victims fled north on Church Street and ran home.   The victims were not physically hurt and no items were taken.  The suspects were described as follows:

Suspect #1: Black male, approximately 17-19 years old, light complexion, approximately  5’11” tall, no facial hair, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, white shoes and armed with a black handgun.

Suspect #2: Black male, approximately 17-19 years old, medium complexion, approximately 5’11” tall, obese, short hair and wearing a red t-shirt.

 While it is scary to even consider, it is important to talk to teens about what to do if they are confronted with these types of situations.  Please stress to them that NO ITEM IS WORTH YOUR LIFE.  Things can be replaced.  People cannot be replaced.  Talk through potential scenarios with them and come up with ideas of what they could do.  Stress being aware and not distracted by things like their phones, trusting their instincts when something feels wrong or they feel unsafe and changing their path and cooperating with giving up their property if confronted with a robbery.  The most important thing is that they are safe.