SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. (WLS) — On one of the busiest travel days of the year, a gas station at the Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis on I-294 in the south suburbs was forced to shut down for hours Wednesday because of an armed robbery.
The robbery happened as ABC7 crews were in the same parking lot, talking to people about holiday travel.
Suddenly, people started scrambling around and yelling that the South Holland 7-Eleven store was being robbed. That’s when ABC7 saw the offenders speed off in a sedan while customers were visibly shaken, lying on the floor of the store.
“It was pretty scary… adrenaline started pumping… heart started pumping,” victim Paul Gomez said. “I was just trying to not get shot really.”
Gomez was one of the customers inside the 7-Eleven when two masked gunman walked in demanding money.
“This guy pointed a gun at me saying, ‘get down, get down,'” Gomez said. “So I did… said, ’empty your pockets…’ threw out my keys and told him I didn’t have any money.”
People could be seen filling up their vehicles with gas during the robbery, not knowing what to do as the offenders ransacked the store.
One man, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he was just walking into the store as the robbers were leaving.
“They followed me back in there and in that aisle he said, ‘give me everything in your pocket,’ but I said if I’m gonna get shot, I’m gonna get shot in the store where everyone can see it,” the witness said. “I didn’t really say much to him then after that they ran out.”
The armed offenders got into a tan-colored sedan moments before police say the driver sped off down I-294.
Just 30 minutes later and roughly 15 miles away, Chicago police found a damaged identical tan sedan, which also had a missing gas cap near Leavitt and Cermak on the West Side of Chicago.
Witnesses said multiple people were seen running from the vehicle after it crashed.