The deli is in South Amboy.
Rose Desai immediately sensed trouble yesterday morning from a guy in the white hoodie.
"The look on his face, the way he talked, I knew something was going on," she said.
From cameras inside her North Stevens Avenue store, you see Rose, afraid, she goes for the phone and in one clean leap over the counter, the stranger is at her side, with a gun to her head.
"He grabs me, and I saw the gun come out of his pocket, and he pushes me over to the register, and takes the money," Desai adds.
On close up, you clearly see the handgun as Rose's life is being threatened.
"I have no words, how this happened to a nice lady like Rose who never hurt anyone," said Yogi Patel.
Patel installed several cameras after his mother-in-law was robbed at knife point back in June. Those cameras caught not one, but two suspects, another man in a plaid jacket who'd come in moments before the gunman.
On the video, you can see the two outside together after the man in plaid leaves, the gunman walks in, knowing the coast is clear. They get the money and get away.
Rose, opened the deli 30 years ago and it's been the town meeting spot ever since sponsoring youth teams. On the wall behind the counter are pictures of her customer's, and grandkids. All her regulars have been coming to check on her, and Yogi shows them the tape.
"It's sad to see something like this happen. And to Rose..it just breaks my heart," said Vito Orlando.
Everyone wants the suspects caught quickly and they are just grateful, that Rose was not hurt.
