MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Police are searching for the suspects they said robbed a family at gunpoint, including taking a backpack from a 7-year-old girl.
“This is one of the most atrocious acts I’ve heard of involving a child," said public safety expert Bennie Cobb. "Robbing a child at gunpoint, it’s unheard of.”
Cobb, who has spent close to 45 years in law enforcement and public safety, said it used to be an unwritten rule for Memphis criminals that children were off limits.
“Years ago, those who victimized children and old people met swift justice from people in the jail, that was just a known fact," Cobb said.
Memphis Police officers responded to a robbery at the Hickory Grove Apartments in southeast Memphis about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2024. According to the police report, a 34-year-old man told investigators he and his family had returned to their apartment when he saw three men standing in front.
He told police he watched his family, a 23-year-old woman and 7-year-old girl, go upstairs for their safety, then he started walking up stairs when they got there. According to the report, at that time, one of the men ran up to him pointing a gun into the victim’s back.
The police report said the armed man guided the victim to his door and told the other two accomplices to check the family. The victim told police the suspects took a gym bag, his wallet with his driver license, passport and credit cards, and his daughter’s backpack off her back, which had an iPhone in a cat case and toys inside.
The police report said the suspects ran away through the complex after the robbery.
Cobb says that in a situation like that, the only option is to comply, especially with a child in harms way.
“You put a child, an innocent child in the mix, not only are these parents or these adults complying, but they’re praying, they’re praying for their child,” he said.
Staff for Hickory Grove Apartments, a gated complex, told ABC24 that they have security guards patrolling the property 24/7.
Cobb says these kinds of experiences can have lasting effects on children.
“It’s going to take a while for this family to recover from this horrible crime. But it’s going to take even longer, maybe a lifetime, for this child to recover to get back to being some semblance of being a child again.”
Anyone with information on who the suspects may be are asked to call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.