AIT Dealer Survives Attempted Murder & Robbery of Chicago Location

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) April 24, 2007 -- AIT Dealer Survives Attempted Murder & Robbery of Chicago Location

Dealer says security products could have thwarted attempt

(Fayetteville, NC) On Tuesday, April 10, 2007, two armed gunmen entered the office which houses the Chicago AIT dealership and demanded money. The two principle officers of the Dealership, Ken Howard and Vernell King, were present, along with another employee, Ron Banks. All three were ordered to lie down on the floor. King, fearing that he would be killed even if he complied, refused to lie down and after an argument he instead attempted to flee. Mr. King was shot once in the leg and another bullet grazed his head. After the shooting, the gunmen fled. King, who is now out of the hospital, is expected to make a full recovery.

The perpetrators were not wearing masks and still remain at large. Chicago police investigators say �they left everything behind except their driver�s licenses�. The bullet casings were recovered as well as fingerprints and a flashlight which rounded out a large volume of forensic evidence. The pair of thieves entered the building with scanners and walkie-talkies as if they themselves were police officers. King, who owns and operates several other businesses in Chicago, one being a neighboring antiques shop which had a going-out-of-business sale the prior day, suspects that the gunman were customers. �There was a good deal of money on hand during that event and I think that the guys were present and had returned to steal the cash,� states Vernell King.

Ironically, the Chicago dealership offers its customers a full range of security related products such as Biometric access control, and IP cameras, which had not yet been installed at the Dealership location. Vernell says that �from this point forward, all of my properties and future dealership locations will be fully protected with security products�. One of the neighboring businesses has an IP camera installed on the exterior of the property and recorded images of the getaway van the gunmen used to escape the scene. Chicago Police have been provided with those digital recordings to assist with their investigation.

�This is pretty close to home for us; our dealers were lucky and we are glad the situation wasn�t worse.� said AIT�s Chief Executive Officer Clarence Briggs. Adds AIT�s Security & Monitoring Product Manager William Harrison. �These unfortunate situations are going to happen no matter what but this is proof positive reasoning for having physical security such as IP cameras and/or biometric devices. Unfortunately, many homes and businesses lack the type of systems that deter this type of event but the larger issue is the lack of hard data to help authorities after the fact with compiling evidence to put the bad guys in jail or to figure out what happened.�

The melee came just one week before the recent massacre of 33 students and faculty members at Virginia Tech.