When one thinks about a medical marijuana dispensary, tranquility is usually among the first images. This, however, was not the case last week at AZ Go Green in Tempe, Arizona.
On October 25, four men, apparently in their late teens or early twenties, entered the facility armed and ready to cause mayhem. After reviewing footage of the event, which was captured on several surveillance cameras throughout the building, police have labeled the men as "brutal" and "cold blooded," according to a report by My Fox Phoenix.
This description doesn't come from the fact that the armed assailants were stealing from a medical marijuana certification center, but rather that they pistol-whipped an employee several times for no apparent reason and got into an unnecessary shootout with an employee who was also armed, the news source said.
"Well apparently they get into literally a shootout with other employees inside this business that were armed with apparent handguns," Sergeant Darren Burch with Silent Witness told My Fox News. "As they leave, one of them takes a shot at them [and there was] absolutely no need for that, that was just really cold blooded."
Unfortunately, many local residents who live near the shop said it was just a matter of time before something like this happened.
"It does not make us feel safe in our neighborhood," Tempe resident Sherri Toomb said, according to My Fox News. "I feel like a prisoner in my own home when I have to bring children in from the backyard and say I'm sorry you cannot go outside and play."
According to the FBI, Tempe is not entirely unfamiliar with robberies, as 237 incidents were reported to the agency in 2011 and 268 in 2010.
Since the four criminals bombarded AZ Go Green weren't able to get either type of green and left empty handed, local authorities believe their reign of theft is not over.
"There is no doubt these people will do it again and hurt someone, we need to get them off our streets," Burch said, according to My Fox News.
While Silent Streets is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, other local businesses should consider upgrading their physical security strategies and deploy high-definition surveillance cameras with real-time monitoring capabilities. In doing so, decision-makers may be able to help police officers identify and locate the criminals before they inflict too much damage.
