"Police are searching for a suspect in a brazen robbery that happened Monday morning at the Home Depot located off Goodman Road and Highway 78 in Olive Branch.
Surveillance video released Tuesday afternoon by Olive Branch police shows a masked man directing three Home Depot employees to do his work for him, by removing money from a safe and then separating coins from the cash under his supervision.
"He was armed with a black, semi-automatic pistol," said Major Tim Presley of the Olive Branch Police Department.
Presley said the employees did what they should have by complying with the robber's request.
"Money can be replaced, but lives cannot be replaced," he said.
The crime went down around 5:00 a.m. Monday, before the store opened. Police believe the suspect waited in his car until employees at the store reported for work.
When employees arrived, surveillance video shows the man sprinting across the parking lot to approach them.
The man forced the store's manager into its office, along with two male employees.
Don Mitchell, who works at a nearby business, said the robbery was a reminder that crime is everywhere.
"I'm really shocked," said Mitchell, who added the area normally feels safe.
The Olive Branch Home Depot heist came less than two months after a Horn Lake Home Depot was robbed during business hours. Four suspects were quickly caught by officers after that robbery, and there is no indication the crimes are related.
There is no clear description of the suspect who was caught on camera, who got away in a gray, four-door car." (
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