RICHMOND, Va (WTVR)- Raleigh Carr and his wife Jean have run a small car repair and gas business on Broad Rock Boulevard for 42 years. They’ve been married for fifty. Monday afternoon, though, they weren’t sure they’d make it to 51.
" First time I've been robbed in 42 years,” said Jean Carr. “[It’s] hard to describe."
Harrowing surveillance video speaks volumes to an intense situation that had Raleigh Carr at a loss for words. "His face was white as a sheet, had no color, so I knew he was really scared," she added.
Carr was in the back of his Southside shop counting receipts, filling out paperwork. When he looked up, he saw his wife on the surveillance camera with a shotgun shoved in her face. 31:47 "All I could do was watch," he said Thursday. "I was hoping and praying he didn't walk out," his wife chimed in.
The video shows thugs acting rough and forceful at times. Jean Carr said as soon as she saw them come around the building, she braced for bad news. "I knew it was too hot for a hoodie,” she said. I knew what was up."
Police were able to recover some evidence but are hoping the video will jog the memory of people that live near the Carr’s shop.
“We are asking anyone with info to come forward,” said Richmond Police spokesman Gene Lepley. “The video isn't the best quality, but we feel someone in this community may know or heard people talking about the crime."
The haunting footage serves as a reminder for the Carrs, how they avoided serious injury or something worse by simply doing what the bad guys requested. They say police instill that in them over the past few years as their customers and community have changed.
“Thank god they left without shooting somebody," said Raleigh Carr. "I'm not over it, but I'm ok," said his wife.
Police say they are looking at all recent robberies to see if they can draw a connection. They say they are confident someone out there has the key piece they need to solve the case.
The Carrs plan a modest 51st anniversary celebration next month.
