Robbery Foiled At Ft. Wayne Beauty School

"I Just Want To Do God's Will:" those words are displayed outside of the Chosen Christian Beauty and Barber College. It's not your typical crime hot spot, but it's the latest target in a string of Fort Wayne robberies.

"Is it unusual? Yes, it's very unusual to have this type of business targeted" says Fort Wayne Police officer Raquel Foster.

Around 1PM Tuesday afternoon, a man walked into the beauty and barber school. Armed with a gun, he demanded cash. But unlike similar recent incidents, this would-be-robber left empty handed. He and two helpers were caught a short time later.

"No business is going to be exempt because your criminals are looking for one thing. They're looking for quick access to cash" says Foster.

Fort Wayne has seen a spike in robberies this year. Two weeks ago two robberies happened right across the street from where today's attempted robbery occurred. One robbery was at a bank, another was at a dollar store. Foster says they've increased patrol in the Georgetown area.

"Whenever we see a spike of crime in a specific area, yes that concerns us and so we begin to be strategic" she says.

Foster also says many of these robbers are career criminals or professional crooks.

"That's what they do. That's what they do for a living" she says.

With the increase in robberies, Foster says it's possible copycats are emerging.

"That they see the methods and then they copy it and they make attempts themselves" Foster says.

But just like in Tuesday's case, copycat robbers are rarely successful.