news-record.com

The brazen shooting of a Brinks Security employee during a mid-morning robbery Monday at the Old Navy store in Friendly Shopping Center casts a tragic pall over this holiday season.

Now the community must join with law enforcement in bringing to justice the person responsible. Anyone with information, no matter how seemingly insignificant, should call Crimestoppers at 373-1000.

It's no secret that robberies rise during the busy Christmas holiday as shoppers jam stores that take in more cash than usual, with a resulting spike in criminal activity. However, this kind of well-planned robbery and murder is rare in the Triad. The crime's cold viciousness sets it apart. There's justifiable concern that someone who would act with such calculated violence may not hesitate to do it again.

According to police, about 12 shoppers were in the store on the perimeter of the center, near a residential neighborhood, when an armed man in disguise shot the Brinks employee in the forehead and stole bags of money he had just picked up.

Police have identified the guard as Juan Estevan Salado, 25, of the Charlotte area. Later in the day, Salado died at a local hospital. According to broadcast reports, he was engaged to be married.

The fact that the robber was inside the store waiting for the armored truck to arrive and had an escape route planned strongly indicates he was familiar with the pickup schedule and the store itself. That being the case, police must determine if the murder was premeditated.

Hopefully, in-store security camera images will help establish a timeline and offer clues. Photos released to the media show a black suspect with dreadlocks wearing a woman's red wig, teal scrub pants, a patterned shirt and white tennis shoes.

Authorities believe that, after the robbery, the suspect walked to a nearby bank parking lot and left in a black car that may have had an elevated plastic spoiler on the trunk. Motorists who saw such a vehicle in the area can help by providing pertinent information.

Increased police patrols at the center, which provides its own security force, should reassure shoppers. But merchants citywide may also want to keep less cash on hand during the holiday crunch and re-evaluate store security measures.

In a September 2007 store robbery, an elderly store owner was murdered at her East Cone Boulevard hat shop. Information from area residents led to the arrest of a suspect who was tried and sentenced to life in prison.

With the public's help, relentless pursuit and swift punishment are critical in deterring such crimes.