Police searching for armed men who robbed, kidnapped man at ATM

CONYERS, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A terrifying ordeal for a bank customer in Conyers who was ambushed at the ATM.

Police told FOX 5 News two armed men forced their way into his car while he was withdrawing money and demanded that he give them the cash at the Bank of America ATM on Highway 138.

“The assailants approach from the back of the car,” said Sgt. Buck Vaughn, as he pointed to bank surveillance video.

Vaughn said before he could react two masked men got into his car and forced the victim to withdraw money.

He said from the Conyers ATM they forced him to drive to another Bank of America ATM in DeKalb County to rob him a second time.

“Going to a separate location did a couple of things it interrupted the time frame, how much time they had to spend here in Conyers, it also potentially gave them a place closer to home that they are more familiar with,” said Vaughn.

He said it’s unclear if the robbers targeted the victim in the early morning crime or if it was a random robbery.

It’s a scenario which made customer Andrea Hubbard nervous.

“The only thing I can think of, I would not be doing any ATM banking at night, period. And I’m going to pass this on because there is a bunch of people women in my family,” said Hubbard.

Investigators said the victim was also forced to drive to what the robbers believed was his home, where they planned to rob him of valuables inside the residence.

But instead, he took them to a friend's place in Henry County who helped end the nightmare.

“Turned out to be a good move on his part because someone was able to interrupt the event and scare these guys off,” said Vaughn.

He said the two robbers got away when a third man, who’d been following, arrived in a getaway car.

Vaughn said there are indications the ATM bandits have struck before.

“I think they have done this to others. There are similar events in surrounding counties that have some of the same markings,” said Vaughn.

He said Conyers Police are working with other police agencies to try to track down the robbers.

Anyone with information is asked to call Conyers Police or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS. Tipsters can remain anonymous.