Another Woodbridge Center Store is Robbed

Six days after who held a woman hostage at knifepoint in , another armed thug robbed a store at almost the same time and in the same wing of the mall.

, a woman's clothing store in the lower level wing of the shopping center, was held up by a gunman Wednesday night at approximately 5:27 pm, according to a report on nj.com.

The store was locked down, and the gunman fled, police said.

Less than 20 minutes later, at about 5:45 pm, the same suspect held up a GameStop on Convery Boulevard in Perth Amboy and got away with between $400 and $700, mycentralnj.com reported.

Perth Amboy police issued the alert after hearing about the Woodbridge Center robbery, adding that the thug escaped in the direction of Industrial Avenue. The GameStop store is about 4 miles away from the mall via Route 9.

"I can't believe it!" said Nina Juarez, who was shopping in Woodbridge Center and oblivious to the robbery that had taken place. "After that guy last week, it's incredible it happened again!"

Another shopper, who didn't want to give his name and also had no idea an armed robbery had just occurred, shook his head. "It's just crazy. Why would they pick on this mall? I never heard of any problems here," he said. 

The robber was described as being between 24 and 30 years old, between 5 ft. 8 and 5 ft. 9 inches tall, with a medium build. He had long hair, wore a black skullcap and aviator sunglasses, was dressed in dark clothing, and carried a large black backpack, mycentralnj.com said.

Wednesday's robbery was less than a week after off duty , 44, of Paterson. 

Barrett had approached Garcia last Thursday after a suspected shoplifting in a trendy clothing store in the Sears wing of the mall. Garcia ran and grabbed an elderly shopper and held her hostage with a knife to her throat. 

The suspect refused to drop the knife on the patrolman's command. Barrett shot and killed Garcia, and was for saving the woman's life.