Two On The Loose After Greenville ATM Robbery

Greenville Police are on the lookout for two men who robbed a man at a Greenville ATM at gunpoint.

The incident happened last Friday at the Publix grocery store on Pleasantburg Drive. Police say the man went to the ATM just before 11 pm to withdraw some cash from his account when two men approached him, pointed a gun at him, demanded the money and took off with $180. The man ran across the street and called 911.

"This guy is not small," said Greenville Police spokesman, Jason Rampey, referring to surveillance video retrieved from the scene. "He's a big guy and capable of defending himself. But, he's outnumbered and these guys have a firearm, so it's best to give em' what they want."

Withdrawing money from an ATM is a very common practice. Yet, during the holiday season, this normal chore can be very dangerous if you do not know what to do or be on the lookout for.

"This is something we've seen before," said Jason Rampey, Greenville Police Department spokesperson. "They clearly know why you're there, to withdraw money."

Rampey says that in order to protect yourself from becoming an ATM during the day in a place you know. And don't sit around waiting for trouble, like Kathy Owens did, as she could have easily becoming a victim when she was waiting in her car with cash in her hand.. It is a mistake that is all too common.

"Well, i went up there and got an envelope and came back to my car," Owens told News Channel 7's Melissa Keeney. "I wasn't going to fill it out up there."

Owens normally picks a ATM that is well lit, but even that makes her think twice.

"Here, it's kind of isolated," she said. "Even though there's a lot of traffic going back and forth, there's always that chance somebody could come along, snatch your bag and go."

Since police say this can be the season for stealing, the best advice may be to carry no cash at all. It may take the convenience out of the holiday.

"You just don't know what to do anymore," Owens said. "Except to stay home and lock your doors!"

The men are described as two black males, one of which was wearing a black hooded sweathsirt with white letters on the hood, and the other was wearing a white sweatshirt with a black design on it.

The incident came just one week after a man rode up to a Bank Of America ATM on E. Main Street in Spartanburg and robbed a man and took off with the ATM cashbox. Spartanburg Public Safety is still searching for a suspect in that case.

If anyone has any information on the Greenville ATM robbery, you can call Crime Stoppers of Greenville at 58-CRIME or information on the Spartanburg ATM robbery, you can call Spartanburg Crimestoppers at 23-CRIME.