By: Liz Tufts
ltufts@abc6.com At a time when most of the city's police officers were responding to calls related to hurricane Sandy, a masked man took advantage of it in Pawtucket. Police say held up a father and son inside the furniture store they've owned for 32–years.
Gabriel Barbosa was just getting ready to lock up his store, Barbosa Furniture, early on Monday, hen the bell on the front door jingled, but it wasn't hurricane Sandy's forceful winds. It was a man armed with a gun. "As soon as he walked in he told me to lie on the ground. He asked my father for money and if he didn't give it to him, he was going to shoot me, " adds Barbosa.
But Gabriel's father is 82 and hard of hearing, so when he didn't move fast enough for the robber. He fired off three shots. Two hit Gabriel's dad, one in his hand, the other in his stomach. The 3rd, grazed Gabriel's head.
All of this was happening in broad daylight at 2:30. At a time when main street would be filled with people heading to lunch, but on Monday, Sandy caused many of them to stay home. "It's main street there are always people and cars going by but the day with the storm nobody was outside, " says Barbosa.
Police already had their hands full. They say calls that day nearly doubled with reports of flooded streets and downed power lines. "I thought I was going to die, I thought he was going to shoot me in the head, " says Barbosa.
Gabriel managed to get the strength to reach for an envelope filled with money. Once he forked it over, the robber took off. Little did he know though, "I gave him the wrong envelope the one I gave him had no money in it, " says Barbosa.
With all the chaos going on across the city on Monday, Gabriel says police responded to his 911 call in just a few minutes. That's because they added more officers on that night to be safe. As for the suspect, police are still searching for him. They're also looking at surveillance video captured from a business across the street.
