9-Year-Old Boy Robbed at Gunpoint While Working Lemonade Stand in North Carolina

A boy selling lemonade in a North Carolina neighborhood was allegedly robbed Saturday when a teen pressed a black handgun to his stomach and demanded money.

Deputies later found a black BB handgun on a trail in nearby woods of Monroe, North Carolina, the Union County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Sunday. Also found: A metal tin stolen from the boy, plus a camouflage hat matching the one reportedly worn by the teen who fled on foot.

The robber made off with $17, according to local station Fox 46.

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The boy’s father, Phillip Smith, has shielded his son from media attention, but said the young entrepreneur worked the lemonade stand to raise funds to buy a lawn mower for his other part-time business.

“Never thought in a million years I’d be racing off to pick him up with somebody pointing a gun at him and taking his money from just a simple thing of selling lemonade,” Smith told WCNC-TV.

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Undeterred, the boy returned Sunday to sell lemonade  — this time with added support from family as a precaution. Neighbors rallied to raise $256 for the boy, WCNC-TV reported.

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