Police: Gunman Prayed, Hugged Woman During Robbery (VIDEO)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)- Police said a gunman spent nearly 10 minutes on his knees praying with the clerk at an Indianapolis check cashing business before fleeing with her cell phone and $20 from the register. Security video from the Advance America branch clearly showed the man's face during Monday's stickup, and a 23-year-old man surrendered Tuesday on a preliminary charge of robbery.

The robbery took an unusual turn after the gunman came around the counter as the clerk told police she began crying and then talked about God. The man said he had a 2-year-old child to support and asked for prayers about overcoming his hardships.

Sgt. Kevin Wethington said the clerk's actions "certainly didn't hurt" in preventing more trouble at the store on the city's east side.

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Comments

[Kfontz]

07:32 PM on 10/22/2009

this looks as fake as the ballon baffoons, this was supposed to have happened somewhere else not to long ago. where is everyone else? hmmmmmmmm

[kwinter]

12:48 AM on 10/21/2009

Would someone please fill me in on why posters are calling this story a complete lie?
And also why they are calling it "Christan bashing"?
I checked, and it's the same story I'm finding from other news sources.
There my have been some anti-xian comments here, but the story is not anti-xian, and from what I have found it is a totally true, sad story.

[minimalist syntax]

12:55 AM on 10/21/2009

Because the original title of this story was: "Gunman Forces Woman To Pray With And Hug Him During Robbery (VIDEO)"
The corrections staff did change the headline:
"Cc:
[e-mail]
Attachments:
Thank you for submitting a correction. These mistakes have been corrected."

You can go to the original screen capture of this story and check this. (time ca.7 something. I will look for a link)

[kwinter]

01:02 AM on 10/21/2009

Okay, thanks ... sounds pretty normal for HP.

[minimalist syntax]

01:02 AM on 10/21/2009

Here is a link to the archive of the first page: http://screenshots.assets.huffingtonpost.com/originals/2009/10/20/2009102021-home.jpg
Scroll down to see the title of the story about the gunman forcing the victim to pray and hug him. "Gunman forces woman to pray, hug during robbery." I am not sure how to find the original story itself in the archives.

[richard5]

12:26 AM on 10/21/2009

After viewing the full tape, I don't know what to make of this situation. Obviously this young man committed a crime and is troubled. To have a kid at 21 which he can't support is bad enough, but to rob to feed them is worse. On the other hand, he appears to have some goodness in him at least for a fleeting moment.

It would have been better of him had he just walked away empty handed after praying with the victim and not stealing her phone and taken the $20.00 bucks. He seems conflicted between good and evil, and clearly needs help. Unfortunately, whatever helps he needs will have to be delayed now that he most likely will end up in jail.

I hope he gets the help he needs, and since no one was injured, I trust the judge don't lock him up for too long, and instead order him into some diversion program. He clearly is ambivelent about his crime and remorseful to a degree. He would have been better off begging on the street corner or going to a church rather than getting himself in this mess. I am sure someone would have helped if they were aware of his plight. Sad.

[minimalist syntax]

12:32 AM on 10/21/2009

He must have felt there was no one for him. How sad that our society is such that people imagine other people wouldn't care about them.

[jessicadevyn]

12:47 AM on 10/21/2009

He traumatized this woman. She may end up with PTSD for the rest of her life because of it. I am the same age the assailant and this is just wrong. There is WIC and foodbanks if you need a child fed. This guy is a psycho and not all that bright. He needs to be locked up. I have met so many people who believe they can cause all types of shenanigans if they simply "pray and ask God for forgiveness".

[jessicadevyn]

12:57 AM on 10/21/2009

Just read the more real story. But my original point still stands. There is no reason to do armed robbery and mess someone up for life. There are lots of other ways to get a kid fed. This guy got away with her cellphone, 20 bucks, and had his face plainly on camera. Not the brightest bulb on the Xmas tree.

[getalong]

11:24 PM on 10/20/2009

Ok... why was my comment deleted?

[thrdr]

12:11 AM on 10/21/2009

Yeah why?

God only knows, god makes his plan . . .
The information's unavailble to the mortal man . . . .

[getalong]

07:03 PM on 10/21/2009

???

Dude. I made a normal comment, which was posted successfully, but oddly deleted by the mods. I'm just wondering why they deleted it.

I don't understand why you have to be a jerk to me about it.

... and what's with the God stuff?

[Fight4Freedom2008]

10:57 PM on 10/20/2009

"If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed." --Albert Einstein

[thrdr]

10:52 PM on 10/20/2009

This story isn't really about god or religion. It's about the crazy things people are being driven to do in desperate times. Nobody really got hurt, and I hope the guy gets some leniency if his story is true.

[minimalist syntax]

11:03 PM on 10/20/2009

I agree that that is the true essence of this story. However, given the extreme falsification of the content, it appears to have been intended as a story to bash Christians as sick immoral people. I don't know why they would have put up such a false storyline for something that could be so easily checked.

[minimalist syntax]

10:44 PM on 10/20/2009

This article is a complete falsification of the local story. Talk about Faux news.

[andyboy]

11:14 PM on 10/20/2009

I see we have a large contigent of junior editors here now. How boring.

[kiwi1]

10:44 PM on 10/20/2009

Another great example of H.P. reporting... Let's see if this is corrected.

[thrdr]

10:50 PM on 10/20/2009

I'm sorry but I have to disagree--while it is bad and needs correcting this is not typical of what one finds at HuffPost (though I don't know about the "Entertainment" and "Style" sections--I try to avoid them).

[minimalist syntax]

10:54 PM on 10/20/2009

I agree with you as well. Most articles at HuffPost seem pretty fair and accurate. This one is a complete distortion of the truth however.

[kiwi1]

10:58 PM on 10/20/2009

It fits perfectly into HP template to Bash Christians though. This is their point. You just need to read the lame comments to realize this.

[andyboy]

11:12 PM on 10/20/2009

kiwi1,

It's just the way we want it. No correction needed. Christianity needs a good bashing. Does it make you uncomfortable to know I feel this way and don't even care if you know it? Limbaugh and FOX are getting bashed too. When your always spouting your opinion and then your bs tuns out to be way off the mark and you get called on it the easiest thing to do is to try and play it off like your some type of victim. Again nothing needs corrected. It is what it is my friend. Deal. Sometimes you have to play defense. This is that time for you.

[minimalist syntax]

11:19 PM on 10/20/2009

You don't care about truth to any degree? This story is *completely false*. At least HuffPo has somewhat corrected the headline. Why don't you read another news sources copy? It's a *completely* different story: http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=11342531
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33401085#33401085

That you would defend lies surprises me.

[thrdr]

12:09 AM on 10/21/2009

Well it looks like corrections have been made. I applaud that. I am an atheist, and I'd consider it one of the highest honors I could ever receive if I were burned in effigy by religious fundamentalists, but as an atheist my committment is to truth, and I can see as a non-believer that sometimes that little tincture of opium--that little "lift in your shoe" that George Carlin talked about--can get people past a crucial ugly and dangerous place. Sometimes. Maybe not most of the time. But sometimes.

Maybe this guy went in there angry and desperate and half-crazy, ran into this woman and saw that she was just another ordinary person like him, goes to church like him, believes in Jesus or whatever, and that's why he took the bullet out of his gun and all. Something like that.

Mind you, it's not that I don't have any conflict with Christians, or people who call themselves Christians. I just wish they'd act a little more like Jesus Christ, who was someone, like Sherlock Holmes and Superman and Sir John Falstaff, I think we could all learn or thing or two from, even if they are fictions.

[JuniorBug]

10:43 PM on 10/20/2009

Where did this copy come from? The local news report is significantly different.

[FantasticFourFan]

10:41 PM on 10/20/2009

"Oh Lord, please let my feet be swift as I run from the cops with this stash! Please guide my bullets as I shoot the cops behind me! Amen!"

[nolabels]

10:34 PM on 10/20/2009

Whatever the facts are...the whole thing is just bizarre.

[goodtomeetyou]

10:08 PM on 10/20/2009

She was not FORCED to pray. He even took the bullet out of his gun in front of her as she prayed for him. This isn't the full video.

Here is the full clip:

"The clerk begins witnessing, as Christians call it, about God."

Robbery suspect prays with victim
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33401085#33401085

---
He's still guilty but why distort the story so much?

[cmk1967]

10:22 PM on 10/20/2009

They distort the truth to disparage religion by making it sound like some religious whacko is out robbing people and forcing them to pray, and then they have the audacity to rip on FoxNews for misleading people.

[JuniorBug]

10:44 PM on 10/20/2009

Now hold your horses. Give them a chance to update, at least, before you start rallying a mob.

[goodtomeetyou]

10:50 PM on 10/20/2009

I agree. This is purposely misleading.

[rbryanh]

09:50 PM on 10/20/2009

"Guns and religion." Not just for Pennsylvanians!

[r4614]

09:44 PM on 10/20/2009

This is an interesting take on a story that's being reported quite differently by other news outlets. Not sure why the video above was edited, but the full video clearly shows the victim approaching the gunman and giving him an extended hug. You can see the full video here: http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=11342531

The victim has also said that the gunman came in and apologized to her, saying that he had a 2 year old child to support. She started talking to him about god and they prayed together. Doesn't sound like the gunman "forced her to pray and hug him".

Surprising to see that HP is reporting the story without including all of the facts...

[goodtomeetyou]

10:10 PM on 10/20/2009

You are correct. She was not forced to pray.

"The clerk begins witnessing, as Christians call it, about God."

Robbery suspect prays with victim
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33401085#33401085

[r4614]

12:09 AM on 10/21/2009

Glad to see HP has now changed the story to more closely reflect what happened. Good work.

[yourmotherwasahamster]

09:17 PM on 10/20/2009

Another good christian!

[firewmn]

10:44 PM on 10/20/2009

*BingO*

[minimalist syntax]

10:46 PM on 10/20/2009

Read how this article is a *complete* falsification of the local story: http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=11342531

[JuniorBug]

10:46 PM on 10/20/2009

You mean the victim who prayed with the gunman, or the gunman who didn't hurt anyone and turned himself in? Because I don't think your cynicism is warranted in this case.