Police: Robber said ‘this is for Michael Brown’
theGRIO REPORT - A robbery that took place Saturday evening near a Lafayette Square restaurant took a weird turn when an armed man started to say “this is for Michael Brown," according to police.
A robbery that took place Saturday night in St. Louis near a Lafayette Square restaurant took a weird turn when an armed man started to say, “This is for Michael Brown,” according to police.
Six people were leaving a local eatery and began walking north on the 1100 block Mississippi Avenue when they were attacked by two black men, KSDK reports.
One of the attackers allegedly took out a gun and started to point it at the victims, while asking for their property. After the other one took their possessions, the one pointing the gun allegedly said, “This is for Michael Brown.”
Michael Brown was an unarmed black teen who was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer August 9.
The two robbers ran away following the attack.
The restaurant owner expressed regret to KSDK:
We feel for our customers. This is an unfortunate incident. We’ve been here 11 years and nothing like this has ever happened. It’s unfortunate that two young guys would do something like this.
Sixth Ward Alderman Christine Ingrassia is the Lafayette Square representative. She expressed how troubling the gunman’s reference to Michael Brown seemed to her.
From the time I’ve spent in Ferguson and what I’ve watched from the media, I am 100 percent sure that Mike Brown’s family would not think this robbery had anything to do with Mike Brown nor would the rest of us. There are a lot of people in our community who are using this Mike Brown situation to let the community know there is something else bubbling below the surface. There are racial issues. There are issues of cyclical poverty here, so I think it’s important to at least take note of it.
Police released a description of the suspects. The first one is an 18- to 25-year-old, thinly built, black man, between 5’5″ and 5’7″. At the moment of the attack, he was wearing blue jeans and a white tank top. He has medium length braids, and he carries a small, silver handgun.
The second suspect is also black, between 18 and 25, at somewhere between 5’6″ and 5’9″. He is also thin, and he was wearing a black ski mask.
