Caught On Tape : Robbers Use Huge Handgun In Store Robbery

Police Say it was an attention getter as a huge handgun was fearlessly waved around by some armed robbers early Thursday morning during a local store robbery.

Police say it was a .44 caliber Magnum, the same gun that Clint Eastwood helped make famous in the movie "Dirty Harry."

"That's a mean gun that's gonna do a lot of damage to somebody," said Lt. George McClay of Northwest Detectives.

The scene was a 7-11 on Ogontz Avenue just after 3 a.m., when the two bandits rushed through the front door, forced the store clerk to open the register at gun point and then vaulted the counter and cleaned out the cash.

"Someone's gonna know who that is. He's an athlete," McClay said."He's very nimble, you can see how he jumps back off the counter, grabs some money, some cigarettes and rolls out the door, jumps over that counter."

While both robbers wore masks in front of the surveillance cameras, detectives are hoping someone might recognize this robber from his distinctive sweatshirt.

"Someone's gonna know what that sweatshirt is. To us it looks like it says Philadelphia, some kind of sports team on the bottom, it's not the Phillies," McClay added.  

What worries police the most is the high powered .44 caliber  Magnum that was used again.  

"That's a very distinctive gun, someone knows that's in their house. It's not a gun you can walk around the streets with," Mcclay explained. "It's dangerous. It's the holiday season coming up, we don't want these guys out there robbing people."

The suspects stole $300 and cigarettes. Police are now trying to link these two guys to two more armed robberies here in the East Police Division. 7-11 and the Citizens Crime Commission are offering a reward in the case, if you recognize the suspects, you're asked to call the police hotline: at 215-546-TIPS.