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A motorist from Walton County giving a man a ride in Shalimar says the passenger then tried to rob him at gunpoint.
The victim told Okaloosa County Sheriff’s deputies he was approached at the Tom Thumb by a man who asked for a ride, saying he was hungry and homeless.
On the way to a nearby restaurant, the individual asked the driver to pull over in a parking lot on 11th Avenue. He then produced a handgun and demanded money. The robber ran from the scene after an employee at the business came out of the building.
Meigs Middle School and Shalimar Elementary were placed on precautionary lockdowns as deputies and K9s converged on the area to search for the robber, described as approximately six feet tall, in his twenties, wearing no shirt and sagging blue jeans.
A resident on 8th Avenue says he was in his doorway when a man matching that description tried to get into his vehicle in the driveway. The car was locked and the suspect continued running.
No one was injured.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office at 850-651-7400 or Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers at 863-TIPS, Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers.com, or by using the P3 Mobile Tips application.
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