Hammond tobacco shop robbery caught on video

HAMMOND, Ind. (WLS) -- A violent robbery at a tobacco shop in Hammond, Ind., was captured on camera. The owners said three robbers got away with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise and equipment.

Surveillance video shows the suspects ransacking the store in a brazen daylight robbery that left the store clerk terrified.

"I have God on my side. That's all I was thinking about. I was praying and thinking about my family," said Ayman Odtallah, a store clerk.

Odtallah said the robbery happened around 11 a.m. Thursday. First, one suspect entered, and when the time was right, two other men wearing hoodies came in. One was armed with a gun.

"I just told him I don't know nothing. Just take what you want and leave. Take what you want," Odtallah said.

Odtallah said he was tied up as the men began grabbing armfuls of cigarette cartons as well as a fireworks kit, cash and electronics equipment. At one point, the clerk is seen being led into the room with his hands on his head.

Odtallah said the men even took the primary surveillance camera system, but were unaware that a backup system was still taping.

"They knew this place inside and out. They knew which doors to go to. You see it on the video. It's not like they're searching for things. They know where it's at," said Jennifer Shannon, clerk's sister-in-law.

"He was saying he was going to kill me, kill me. He was looking for some DVR, and I just told him I don't know nothing. Just take what you want and leave," Odtallah said.

After several minutes inside the shop, the men left. Odtallah was not harmed. The owners said they've been robbed dozens of times in the last decade.

"Nobody's ever been arrested in anything that we've been aware of. It's been heartbreaking," Shannon said.

Hammond police are investigating, and the owners have also notified the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. It's believed the suspects left the scene in two vehicles, a white van with tinted windows and a white Chrysler sedan.

A $1,000 reward is being offered in the case. Anyone with information should contact Hammond police.