Robbery turned standoff ends with gunman escaping Advance Auto store in Charlotte
After a more than two-hour standoff Friday morning at the Advance Auto Parts store on Freedom Drive in Charlotte, authorities say a suspected gunman escaped before they arrived.
As of late Friday afternoon, his location was unknown.
Early Friday evening, police released surveillance photos and a description of the suspect. He is described as an approximately 5-foot-9 male wearing blue jeans, a dark hooded sweatshirt, gray toboggan and tan boots. He was carrying a dark bag and was armed with a small handgun, police said.
Anyone who sees him should call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.
The standoff started shortly after police received reports of an armed robbery inside the store, around 7:50 a.m., according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.
Employees evacuated, but police said they had information that led them to believe the armed robber was alone and still inside the store.
“Out of an abundance of caution and to peacefully de-escalate the situation, the call was made to deploy our SWAT team,” said CMPD Maj. David Robinson.
Freedom Drive was shut down as officers used a speaker to try and communicate with what they believed was an armed person inside.
Over the course of nearly two hours Friday morning, a police officer could be heard from nearby, attempting to use the speaker to reach the suspected gunman.
The officer gave a phone number to call for communication with authorities.
“The best option right now is for you to walk out the front door,” the negotiator could be heard saying.
The male officer using the speaker told the person inside the SWAT response is for safety and he encouraged the person to “stand up wherever you’re at and walk to the front door.”
But later, SWAT searched the building and police determined that the suspect had “at some point in fact left the building,” Robinson said.
“We believe he exited the building and left in an unknown direction.”
There were no injuries, police said, and there were no hostages inside. Robinson declined to say whether the suspect had left with any money or merchandise.
The auto parts store is located at 2910 Freedom Drive in Charlotte, about 3 miles from uptown and just east of Interstate 85.
This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 11:10 AM.
