Police call it one of the most bizarre incidents they have ever seen; a 12-year boy was arrested after he robbed a gas station in Hartford, Michigan.
The authorities have released a video showing the preteen calmly walking into the Marathon gas station in Hartford on Wednesday at 3:45 p.m.
He stands in line behind a man and eventually comes face-to-face with the clerk, whose first name is Jessica.
Boy fires shot during Marathon gas station robbery in Michigan
The child, with no emotions, looks at the clerk and demands that she gives him the money. The child pulled a handgun from his backpack and said: “Put the money in the bag.”
The baffled clerk asked: “What?” Jessica is confused at first, thinking it is a hoax, and scolded the boy by adding: “Are you serious?”
The 12-year-old was angered by the question and the tone of the female clerk, so he decided to show how serious and aggressive he could get.
The surveillance video shows the skinny child pointing the 9mm to the ceiling and firing a warning shot. The man, who was in the queue after the boy, quickly moved away.
The clerk got scared and yelled at the deranged child: “OK!”
She expeditiously grabbed the money bag from behind the counter and almost tossed it to the boy, and screamed: “Here. Get out. Bye. Take it.”
The boy attempts to reload his gun as he leaves, but it jams. One of the shell casings can be seen falling to the floor.
The boy calmly walks out of the gas station before running home. He was arrested almost immediately.
Police officers intervened in 90 seconds
Less than a block away, Hartford Police Chief Tressa Beltran was driving to the police department when she received the call about the robbery.
It took her and other police officers less than 90 seconds to arrive at the scene of the crime. The troubled boy was arrested a few blocks away by Hartford police. He confessed to the robbery and said he did not do it for the money.
Hartford Lt. Mike Prince said: “Every day, I’m seeing something new at this job. I’ve been a full-time police officer for 38 years. What really flabbergasted me is that he showed no emotion. He told us he didn’t do it for the money. He said he would’ve thrown the money into the sewer. He wouldn’t give us an explanation why he did it.”
Boy charged with armed robbery
The child has been charged with armed robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon, and discharge of a firearm.
The boy, whose name has not been revealed, is currently in custody at the Allegan County Juvenile Center.
He will remain there until a hearing on June 9 because a family court referee ruled Thursday the boy was a public safety risk.
According to police, the 12-year-old attended Hartford Middle School. On the robbery day, he spoke to several classmates about his criminal and dangerous plans, and no one reported it.
Boy took his grandfather’s gun
The child revealed to other pupils which gas station would be the easiest to rob in the small town. After announcing his decision to commit an armed robbery, he went home and stole his grandfather’s gun.
He lives with his grandfather, who is also his legal guardian. There is no information about his parents.
The grandfather told the police that he was not aware that his grandson had access to where the weapon was hidden.
A sign on the grandfather’s door read: “No comment at this time, no pics. I have to live in this town, and I need some sleep.”
Marathon gas station cashier Jessica speaks out after armed robbery
Jessica, the clerk, is a mom to a 12-year-old girl, and she did an interview explaining her reaction to the shocking robbery.
She said: “I always thought if I were robbed, I’m giving them the money. No amount of money is worth my life. I thought he was a kid, not even ten years old.”
She went on to say that she believed that it was a joke and added: “I didn’t know what to think. I got in the safe. I grabbed a bag of money, and I put it in his bag, and he ran out.”
Despite having her own life in danger, Jessica said as a mother, she felt the pain in the child’s eyes and added: “Part of me wanted to hold the kid because he has so many problems, then it’s hard to feel bad when he did something like this.”
Neighbor Lisa Riley says boy shot her with a BB gun
A neighbor named Lisa Riley told News Channel 3 that she knew the boy after seeing the video.
She revealed that in 2020 he shot her with a BB gun while mowing her lawn. She did not say if she had reported the incident to the police.
She said: “He had no emotion. I just don’t think he knows how to show emotion.”
There has been a rise in crime around the country in recent months.
