Three masked men carrying guns robbed Hymie's Delicatessen on Montgomery Avenue in Lower Merion just after 9:00 p.m.
"He could have hurt me if he wanted to," said Michelle Horev. "He could have killed me."
Michelle Horev didn't know what was happening. She was working as the cashier at Hymie's when she heard a commotion in the back. Her manager ran up front and quietly instructed her to call 911.
It was around closing time for the Lower Merion landmark deli.
"I started to see the customers being forced on the ground, and then I see the face of the robber, and he didn't see me yet," she said.
About half dozen customers were finishing up dinner when three masked men stormed the back door, forced customers and workers to the ground and began robbing them of their phone and wallets. They then cleaned out the cash register.
"Out of nowhere, he then whips out this humongous shotgun and began waving it in everyone's face," Horev said. "Another one had a revolver, and he was holding it to my manager to get the cash."
A car pulled up to the front of the deli and spooked the bandits who fled out the back door.
Lower Merion Police arrived a few minutes too late, but were back at the deli Sunday afternoon to pick up surveillance video.
Hymie's has an elaborate surveillance system of more than 20 cameras, and the owner and longtime customers are confident the video will quickly lead to an arrest.
"It's always a concern when it hits home," said customer Judy Girsh. "Our hope is the video will help catch the bad guys and get them off the street."
"I feel blessed. Things like that definitely make you cherish life every day," Horev said.
Fortunately, no one was hurt.
Hymie's has been in business in Lower Merion since 1937.
