Oklahoma City business blames recent uptick in crime as surveillance video catches armed robbery
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - Oklahoma City Police are now investigating after an alleged armed robbery was caught on camera.
"As I was washing my car this guy pulled up with a gun and demanded my wallet," said the victim.
The car wash was the last place one Oklahoma City resident thought he would ever come face-to-face with a gun.
"I didn't know what was going on in his mind," he said.
The victim wanted to remain anonymous for safety reasons, but he told KFOR he couldn't sleep so he got up to go wash his car.
He says he drove to the location near Penn and NW 150th.
After washing his car, he went to vacuum, and surveilance video captured the moment he says he was robbed.
"Honestly I was thinking I was going to die, that was my last day on earth," said the victim.
The manager of 'The Car Wash' tells us they've seen an uptick in crime at all of their locations in the metro.
Anything from vandalism to break-ins.
"We want our customers to feel safe. We want our customers to be able to come up here and not have to worry about someone coming up behind them or someone trying to cause harm to them," said manager Ryan Sedlacek.
In other videos, you can see what appears to be the same suspect from the robbery try to break in to the office using a crow bar.
In a different video, he tried to kick the door open.
"Seeing those kinds of videos, it's still scary. It's scary to know that this could happen to me, or a family member, or knowing that it can happen to anyone," said Sedlacek.
Their goal is to get the alleged criminal off the streets and keep not only their customers, but their employees from getting hurt... or worse - losing their life.
"It's scary, but we want to be proactive in fighting that. And we don't want to sit back and keep letting it happen," said Sedlacek.
As for the man held at gunpoint? He says he will carry his own gun.
He prays this alleged criminal is caught.
"He might do that to somebody else, they panic, and he ends up shooting them," he said. "I'm glad I have my life."
The victim tells us he wasn't sure if the gun was loaded or not.
He says the man successfully took his wallet, and used close to $1,200.
Sedlacek tells us they are seeing these crimes happen overnight, not so much during the day.
The car wash is open 24/7.
No arrests have been made.
If you recognize the possible suspect, or know anything about the crime, call Oklahoma City Police.