PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - Surveillance video shows us the seconds in which a 44-year-old bodega worker suddenly found himself inches from death with the barrel of a gun pointed directly at his head.
How to describe the ice cold calculation police say is so clear in the eyes of the alleged gunman, looking almost directly at the camera.
Authorities say it was around 8:30 Saturday night when a man in a hood entered the deli market near 55th and Thompson in the southwest section of the city.
Video shows him picking up a soft drink and approaching the cash register just like any other shopper, only to pull a gun seconds later.
According to police, the hooded gunman goes after the victim when he sees him standing nearby, after he put the gun to his head the robber pistol-whipped the innocent shopkeep.
Customers were horrified to the see the familiar friendly worker they see every day suddenly thrust into the worst moment of his life.
They don't understand why anyone would hurt the business people who help revitalize their neighborhood, who locals and police say, keep little cash in their stores.
Police say this robbery is unusual in it's cold brutality. They believe the suspect is from the neighborhood.
The victim was so traumatized he has moved out of state. Police want to catch him before he does this again to another innocent shopkeeper.