RICHMOND, Va (WTVR) - A pair of armed robberies in Richmond Thursday night into Friday morning have some in the city unsettled. In one of the robberies, Richmond Police said three masked men robbed two walkers at gunpoint.
Police said it happened in the 2600 block of Franklin St., which is in Church Hill.
A friend of the victims, who didn't want to speak on camera, told CBS 6 her friends were walking home from dinner around 10:15 p.m. Thursday.
A robber grabbed one her friends by the neck and pointed a handgun to his head. Another suspect shoved the barrel of a shotgun into the side of her second friend.
The trio of masked men took cash and cell phones from the pair and fled towards Main St. down a nearby flight of stairs.
One neighbor in the area saw police cruisers rushing up and down the street after the robbery, but noticed something suspicious about 20 minutes before it happened.
"There were two people standing on the corner, in all black clothes. About five minutes later, another individual walked up in all black," said the man, who CBS 6 has chosen not to identify.
Richmond Police say they are still looking for the suspects in this case.
But it wasn't the only late night armed robbery in Richmond Thursday night into Friday morning.
According to VCU's Alert System, Richmond City and VCU Police were called to the intersection of Lombardy St. and Grove Ave. for another armed robbery around 2 a.m. Friday.
Two victims were approached by two men, and one of the suspects pulled a handgun with laser-sight attached to it on the victims.
The suspects fled in a getaway car driven by a third person. The vehicle is described as a red, mid-sized sedan.
The robbers took the victims and cell phones. The robbery did not occur on VCU's campus, only nearby.
"It's kind of alarming that they were able to their hands on that kind of tactical weaponry to commit armed robbery," said Stephen Weinstock, who lives in the Fan District near the scene. "I'm definitely kind of alarmed by at least my percieved increase in violent crime, armed robberies, and that kind of thing."
"Be more alert when I go out at night," said Kate Tyler, who heard about the robberies during her morning jog down Lombardy St.
Richmond and VCU Police are searching for suspects in both cases. If you have any information about either robbery that could aid investigators, you are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 780-1000.
