Armed Robbery Capped by Explosion
Two suspects sought
Authorities are looking for two suspects in connection with an alleged robbery, arson and assault that ended in an explosion and fire at a North 16th Street convenience store. The victim had been tied up inside but escaped.
Police got the call at 10:12 p.m. Sunday night.
Emergency crews arrived at Bob’s Food Mart at 5301 North 16th Street to find the building engulfed in flames.
Forty-year-old Kassahun Goshime told investigators that two men entered the store at approximately 10 o’clock. Goshime says they stole money at gunpoint, tied him up and set fire to the business. Goshime says the suspects fled the building, leaving him tied up inside.
It’s not clear how Goshime freed himself or got out of the building but police found him outside when they arrived. He had suffered minor injuries.
Omaha Fire Department Assistant Chief Jack York says,”We were dispatched and on arrival we found the front of the building had already blown up. There was an explosion of some sort inside.”
The force of the explosion sent bricks into the street. Other walls and the roof of Bob’s Food Mart also collapsed. Flames and smoke billowed into the air.
One suspect is described as a white male, between 25-30 years old, approximately 6’6″ tall, weighing approximately 170 pounds, with short brown hair, wearing a brown dress-shirt and black pants.
The other suspect is described as a white male, between 25-30 years old, approximately 6’8″ tall, weighing approximately 170 pounds, with short brown hair, wearing a brown shirt.
If you have any information about the case, contact police.