Liquor store owner says he may get gun after robbery

UPDATE: Hours after an armed robbery at a Cedar Rapids liquor store, the owner said he may respond by getting a gun to protect his stores.

Police said two masked men with a handgun robbed Point Liquor and Tobacco, 4107 Center Point Rd. NE, just after midnight Thursday. No one was hurt in the incident and no arrests had been made as of Thursday afternoon.

Javed Khan, 37, of Cedar Rapids, who with his brother owns two liquor stores and a gas station, said the suspects ordered a male employee to the floor before taking about $2,800 in cash, cigarettes and bottles of brandy and champagne.

“They pointed the gun at his head and said, ‘If you touch that (panic button), I'll kill you,'” Khan said.

Surveillance video captured the incident, but both men were were wearing masks with holes cut out for the eyes and mouth. The men were last seen running between the liquor store's strip mall and the nearby BP gas station.

“Thank God they didn't shoot him or hurt him,” Khan said. “Money or merchandise can come back, but life is the most important thing.”

Both suspects were slender black males, standing around 6 feet tall, according to the police report. One wore a black shirt and jeans, while the other man was wearing a gray shirt and jeans.

An investigation was continuing. Khan was confident the suspects would eventually be caught, either soon or in the future. In the meantime, Khan said he would apply for a gun permit.

“You've got to protect yourself,” he said.

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