CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Norwalk liquor store robbed at gunpoint
Security camera footage reviewed by News 12 shows all of them were dressed in black, wearing hoods and masks with just their eyes showing.
More Stories
Dimitrios Sarris and his employees were moving around some inventory at Old Post Spirits in Norwalk when they heard the door chime at the front of the liquor store shortly after 8 p.m. Monday. When they looked up, they saw three men coming in. Security camera footage reviewed by News 12 shows all of them were dressed in black, wearing hoods and masks with just their eyes showing.
"We at first thought it was just one of our local guys just playing a joke on us since we're a neighborhood store," said Sarris, who's a co-owner of the business on West Avenue by Berkley Street.
Then one of the men pulled a gun and the reality of the situation set in for Sarris and the three staff members who were with him at the time.
"We all complied. We got down," Sarris told News 12. "All of our guys here are like family. To jeopardize one of their lives to save some alcohol or some money, it wasn't something we were willing to risk."
Sarris said the robbers got away with several bottles of high-end alcohol including limited releases of tequila and a $4,000 bottle of cognac.
"We're talking a rough estimate about $5,000 to $10,000," Sarris said.
He explained that while insurance will cover the cost of the bottles, you can't put a dollar amount on the mental component of what his employees went through and the fear their families and his own are still dealing with.
"We're very grateful that everybody that was on that day has come back to work because we could've lost a lot of great people," Sarris said.
Norwalk police are investigating, going through the liquor store's security cameras and those at nearby businesses. Sarris also posted a clip of the footage on Facebook as a warning to the community.
"Just to put people on notice that stuff like this is happening," Sarris added. "Watching the video back, I'm glad nobody was hurt or injured in the matter, but it does hurt knowing someone can come into our establishment around closing time and put everybody's life at risk."
Sarris told News 12 Old Post Spirits has gotten a lot of support from other independent liquor stores in the area and across Connecticut.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Detective Matt Nyquist at 203-854-3034 or mnyquist@norwalkct.gov.
