Chicago mom beaten during armed robbery linked to shooting of CPD officers speaks out
Chicago mom beaten during armed robbery before officers shot speaks out
The woman caught in a violent robbery at a store hours before the same suspect allegedly shot two Chicago police officers shared her story.
CHICAGO - A 55-year-old woman is speaking out after a violent robbery that investigators say is tied to the man accused of killing a Chicago police officer just hours later.
What we know:
Maria Velazquez says she is still traumatized after being pistol-whipped while working at a Family Dollar store near Lawrence and Sawyer on April 25.
"With tears in her eyes," Velazquez recalled the moment she feared for her life.
"If I would have died, what would have happened to my children?" she said. "They are still so young and they depend on me."
Velazquez said two men entered the store and demanded money before forcing her toward an office, believing a safe was inside.
"He walked me to the office because he thought the safe was there," she said. "He told me to open it and I told him I couldn’t. He grabbed my bag, my wallet and my keys. He told me to open the safe again, that’s when he hit me for the first time."
She said the attack lasted about 12 minutes but felt much longer.
Big picture view:
Authorities later identified one of the suspects as 26-year-old Alphanso Talley, the man accused of fatally shooting Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew and wounding another officer hours after the robbery.
Prosecutors say Talley has an extensive criminal history. Velazquez is now questioning why he was free.
"They kept letting him out knowing he had a criminal history," she said. "Why did they let him free? This would have never happened. The officer’s family wouldn’t be going through this, I wouldn’t be going through this."
Velazquez, a single mother of three, has worked at the store for 13 years. She suffered a broken nose, bruising and ongoing emotional trauma.
"I’m nervous. I can’t sleep," she said. "I wake up in the morning and I see his face."
She is scheduled for surgery and is unsure when she will be able to return to work.
A GoFundMe has been created to support her and her children during her recovery.