Small business robbed at gunpoint; crooks at large

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (WSVN) -- Cameras rolled as thugs robbed some small business employees at gunpoint before taking off with a large amount of cash.

Two men walked into the Digital Smoke Shop along Northwest 183rd and 27th Avenue just after noon on Wednesday.

The store owner had stepped out of the shop for a few minutes to run errands only to come back and find the doors locked and the lights off. The owner didn't know it at the time, but his two employees, a male and a female, were in the back of the business being tied with zip ties.

Surveillance video inside the store shows a man walking up to the two employees and pointing a gun at them.

The crooks, who were unmasked and had been walking around the store, turned the lights off in the store.

The video then shows the robbers forcing the two employees into the back of the store, binding their wrists and forcing them onto the floor.

While the store owner tried to figure out what was going out, the two men walked out. "Just put on the lights, they were screaming in the back and zip tied on the floor," said the store owner. "My heart almost jumped out of my mouth. It's scary, you know, I couldn't believe it."

Fortunately, the two employees were unharmed.

The robbers escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash.

If you have any information on this robbery, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward.

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