Police are investigating whether the armed robbery of a Brinks truck Tuesday outside a Philadelphia-area store is connected to four other attacks on armored vehicles in and around the city this summer.
According to Cheltenham Township police, two armed males stole between $700,000 and $800,000 in the midday heist at an H Mart in Elkins Park.
One suspect was armed with an AR-15-style pistol, the other with a handgun, according to the Associated Press.
The robbers fled with the cash and later abandoned their vehicle nearby. No shots were fired, and no one was injured.
Cheltenham Township Police Lt. Andrew Snyder said it was the first such robbery in their township, but authorities are examining whether it may be tied to four armored car robberies in and around Philadelphia since June, which local police and the FBI are investigating as possibly related.
Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that three people from Philadelphia, arrested in early August, are charged in connection with the $2 million armed robbery of a Brinks armored vehicle outside a Home Depot on June 21.
A Loomis armored vehicle was robbed outside an Aldi five days later. On July 2, a Brinks truck was hit outside a Dollar General at a shopping center, and on July 15, two suspects robbed another armored vehicle in northeast Philadelphia.
FBI agent Wayne Jacobs told CBS News Philadelphia that law enforcement recovered most of the cash from the June 21 heist, along with several long guns and handguns. Some of the stolen money had been spent on jewelry, clothes, and other items.
“If this is the type of activity you’re going to engage in, if you look at the timeline, six weeks from the time of the incident until the time of the arrest,” Jacobs said, “it’s just a matter of time before you’re held accountable for your actions.”
