Two juveniles are in custody and a third individual is being sought in connection with the reported armed robbery of a Winn-Dixie supermarket early Tuesday, police said.
According to Davie police, the men went into the store, located in a strip shopping center between Flamingo Road and Hiatus Road, shortly before 6 a.m. demanding cash.
Two were quickly apprehended after fleeing the store, but a third remained at large, according to Davie Police Capt. Dale Engle.
He added that police recovered two guns connected to the robbery.
Arriving police officers sealed off all entrances to the shopping plaza where more than a dozen businesses are located. They also concentrated on the nearby Rexmere Village mobile home community where, according to Engle, police found evidence linked to the crime.
Employees and customers stood outside the shopping plaza during the investigation, unable to make purchases or get to their jobs.
Giovannia Velevon, owner of Crayons Child Care Center, said her business was supposed to open at 6:30 a.m.
“I called the parents that I had numbers for, but many just came and had to turn around,” Velevon said. “I didn’t see any action but it was a crazy thing to find out what was going on. It’s scary because I could have had children inside.”
Manuela Jean, 29, of Oakland Park, works at the Walgreens, located next to the Winn-Dixie, and was scheduled to start her shift at 8:30 a.m.
“It’s the first time I see something like this, and I’ve been working here for seven years,” Jean said.
Shortly before 10 a.m., the shopping plaza and mobile home community were fully reopened.
The identities of the two juveniles who were arrested and their alleged accomplice were not immediately released.
mleonor@tribune.com, 954-851-3386 or Twitter @MelhorL
