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Armed robbers thwarted by manual transmission planned to force ATM withdrawals

The victim was walking with a woman he arranged on Instagram to meet in Tower Grove Park. That's when two men showed up and held him at gunpoint.
Credit: Marina Gordejeva - stock.adobe.com
Car gear shift lever, manual gearbox in the car macro black, Manual transmission

ST. LOUIS — A man was walking with an Instagram acquaintance he had arranged to meet in person at Tower Grove Park Saturday night when two men showed up and held him at gunpoint.

The gunmen then escorted the victim to his car, telling him they planned to force him to withdraw money from an ATM. 

When they got to the victim's car, they told the victim to get into the passenger seat. One of the suspects got into the back seat, and the second sat in the driver seat. 

The suspects ran away once they realized they couldn't drive the car, a brief report of the armed robbery from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said.

"The suspects could not operate the vehicle due to it having a manual transmission," the report said. "The suspects fled the scene on foot."

A staff member at SLMPD's Real Time Crime Center told 5 On Your Side the suspects took the victim's keys, phone and wallet.

The investigation into the armed robbery is ongoing.

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