Last week, north College Park was hit by two major crime incidents.
Earlier in the week, the tobacco and pipe shop Bamboo Eater on Rhode Island Ave. (near Edgewood Rd) was robbed at the gunpoint. According to the County Police, the robbery happened at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The suspect, described as a man in his 20s between 5 feet, 2 inches tall and 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing about 150 pounds, fled on foot after collecting the cash from the employee. The suspect was wearing a gray zip-up hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, black gloves and a homemade mask of white flannel.
A man carrying a black revolver-style handgun approached the counter and demanded cash from the employee, who handed over all the money in the register — about $400, according to police.
According to this Diamondback report, this robbery is one of 50 store robberies and home invasions in the county since the beginning of this year, police said. This number is a 23 percent decrease from last year’s 63 robberies of the same nature in the same time span, according to police. In 2010, there were a total of 501 robberies akin to the incident at The Bamboo Eater on Tuesday evening.
The second armed robbery occurred on last Wednesday. At approximately 10:30 p.m., the victim was walking in the 9600 block of 51st Avenue when he was approached by two suspects. One of the suspects produced and pointed a black handgun at the victim. The victim was able to escape to a nearby residence where he notified police. The suspects fled the scene on foot. No items were stolen from the victim.
The suspects are described as Hispanic males, approximately 30 years of age, 5’9” in height, and weighing 160 pounds. One of the suspects was last seen wearing a black jacket. The other suspect was wearing a black sweat shirt with a hood, armed with a black gun.