Armed Robber Holds Up Mass. Ave. Clothing Store

An armed robber yesterday held up the Serendipity clothing store on Mass Ave., marking the third armed theft in Harvard Square in the past two weeks.

Serendipity employee Heather Sinclair said that at 4:40 p.m. a thin, Black male about 20 years of age entered the women's clothing store and casually looked around before aiming a concealed weapon at her as she was working at the counter.

Sinclair said the man walked through the store and picked up a sweater. When she asked him if he wished to purchase it, she said, the man pointed at her what appeared to be a gun beneath his brown corduroy jacket.

"He pointed the gun at me and said 'give me your cash or I'll blow your brains out,'" Sinclair said. The gun was completely concealed beneath the man's jacket, she said. "It could have been his finger for all I know," she added.

Sinclair said that the man was calm and seemed to be "watching to see if anyone was watching, and no one was." She said that no one in the store besides herself knew that the robbery was taking place until after the man had left.

"It was an exceptionally busy day," Sinclair said. The robbery was "like an intense interaction between the two of us, and everything else silenced out," Sinclair said.

"I thought he was making a purchase until heleft and she [Sinclair] stood up and said 'We'vebeen robbed," said an employee who was attendingthe dressing rooms.

Sinclair said the robber demanded that she handover all of the cash in the register. "He askedfor the large bills first, then for the tens, thenthe fives and then the ones," Sinclair said. Afterhanding him all of the cash in the register, shesaid, she was told to lie on the ground until theman had left the store.

The man was described as being Black, about5'5" tall, and of thin build, with short curlyblack hair and a light complexion.

Store employees said that the man was in thebuilding for about 20 minutes, while the robberyonly lasted about three minutes.

Actual figures as to the amount taken were notimmediately available. Cambridge Police saidyesterday they have no suspects and they are nowsearching to determine if there is any linkbetween this robbery and those of the CVS Pharmacyand the Jewelry Gallery in the Garage mall