Robbers get locked in store, crowd outside watches and laughs

PATERSON, NJ (WCMH) – A pair of bumbling robbers found themselves locked in the store after a quick-thinking manager slammed the gate down in front of them.

Security video shows two men run into the Boost Mobile store in Paterson, New Jersey and hold up the manager.

While the robbers gathered the phones and money, the manager ran out and locked the back door and sent a gate crashing down over the front door.

A crowd gathered outside and took video of the robbers as they pleaded for their release.

The robbers spent about 20 minutes trapped in the store before they managed to use tools to unbolt the bars from the back window, WNBC reported.

The manager said he called police multiple times to report the robbery, but the robbers were gone when the officers arrived.

Paterson police say they are conducting an internal investigation into how that happened.

The robbers remain at-large.