Two children selling lemonade in an Illinois suburb were robbed at gunpoint last week in a brazen midday theft that was caught on surveillance video and prompted a massive outreach by the community.
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The incident occurred last Friday in Peoria and the video showed the two boys behind the stand approached by a pair of teens in hoodies. One of the teens flashed a gun and grabbed a box of profits from the day’s work, about $30.
The victims were identified as two 13-year-olds. Nathan Peterson, a father of one of the victims, told WKOW that was in his basement when his wife told him about the robbery.
“I almost blacked out a little bit,” he said. “Like, I felt my body running up the stairs, but for just a moment. It was pretty intense.”
Peterson told PJStar.com that his son was proud of his lemonade stand and enjoyed the responsibility.
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He said his son and a buddy noticed a car drive by and its occupants waved at the boys. It was an unusual interaction, but the two didn’t think much of it. Shortly after, the two approached the boys and asked them what they were selling before one pulled out a gun, the father said.
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The other said, “Let me get your cash box. They were kind of laughing about it,” according to the father.
When police arrived at the scene to question the boys, they purchased cups of lemonade for $20, Peterson told the website.
“They were super-gentle with the kids and really seemed to care,” he said.
Police are investigating the robbery.
ValleyCentral.com reported that members of the community rallied around the boys. A resident told the website that one person came by with a bag of chips and candy so the boys could sell it at their stand.
“He’s like, ‘Hey, you can sell this at your stand’…and helped set it up, so many people just stopped and said things to the boys like, ‘don’t quit, don’t let it discourage you,’” the resident said.
LEMONADE STAND ROBBERY: It was on Friday when two boys running a lemonade stand were robbed, apparently at gunpoint in Peoria’s East Bluff. Tonight, people are still trying to give back to the young entrepreneurs. pic.twitter.com/SRYw5p9ViJ
— Andy Weber (@andywebertv) August 11, 2020
WATCH: ILLINOIS BOYS’ LEMONADE STAND ROBBED AT GUNPOINT.
Two boys were robbed of their hard-earned money while running a lemonade stand in their front yard in Peoria, Illinois, last week, according to a surveillance video.? pic.twitter.com/rxufWHfhvw
— Conservative Freak (@YosefBorgen) August 13, 2020