EXCLUSIVE: Retailer describes how staff were held at gunpoint, as stats show number of armed attacks is increasing

An independent retailer has described the frightening moment when staff were held at gunpoint and spoken about the increase in incidents of armed robberies in his store.

On 1 October 2023, the police were called with reports of an armed robbery at a Tesco on Camden Road in north London. Muhammed Hamza, 20, of Coopers Lane in Camden, and Asim Ahmed, 20, of Raglan Street in Kentish Town, north London, entered the supermarket brandishing weapons. One stole a number of items from the store, while another held terrified staff at gunpoint.

Forty minutes after terrorising the staff at the Tesco store, the pair made their way into a Nisa Local on York Way at 3.20am, this time with a third male. As well as a handgun, a knife and hammer were brandished at members of staff and the public in the shop before the robbers stole goods.

Haroon Hussein, who owns the shop alongside other Nisa stores across London, told Better Retailing incidents of violence had increased over the past year.

“It was frightening for the staff involved. We’re always there to provide assistance and support their mental and physical well-being when incidents like these occur. They’re never told to intervene.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen incidents involving weapons increase in our stores and the retail sector in general. The police response could be better in these instances, and they should be prioritising investigations on attacks on small businesses, but we also understand that resources are quite stretched.”

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Hamza and Ahmed were arrested on 28 November and later charged with three counts of armed robbery, three counts of possession of an imitation firearm, one possession of a knife and one count of possession of an offensive weapon.

Both pleaded guilty to the above charges at Harrow Crown and, on 22 April 2024, were sentenced to seven-and-a-half years’ imprisonment.

Growing concern

Exclusive data by our sister title, Retail Express, has revealed the number of robberies involving a weapon across small shops and supermarkets outnumbered unarmed attacks last year.

Analysis of freedom of information responses from 17 police forces found there were 147 attacks involving a firearm, blunt or sharp object, compared with 15 unarmed during the same period. Armed instances in the year represented a 3% increase on 2022.

In the 27 August edition of Retail Express we share more stories from retailers affected by armed theft, and the support that is available to you and your staff.