Christmas Barbecue

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - On the day after Christmas the owner of LC’s Barbecue is grateful for his neighbors who jumped in to help when a pair of thieves targeted him on Christmas eve.

Footage of the suspect's van can be seen at the start of the video above. If you recognize the van or know anything about this attempted robbery call police or the crimestoppers hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

“I heard him telling them ‘not to kill me, I gave you everything you wanted’, ” Phil Banks, the next-door neighbor said. “They didn't know I was there because I was behind a van.”

Security cameras captured the van pulling into L.C. Richardson’s driveway at 99th and Hillcrest Saturday around 9:15 a.m. The commotion that followed drew Banks’ attention.

RELATED: KC businessman beaten, neighbor shot on Christmas Eve

“I hollered at him and he said ‘I'm serious’ and a minute later they pushed him in front of van and that's when they shot me and that's when I fell back, ” Banks said.

Running on adrenaline Banks got up and ran into his house to call 911. He wasn’t the only one.

“It happened so fast, ” Maurice Willis, another neighbor said.

Willis’s 12-year-old daughter saw the attempted robbery from her bedroom window.

“She came to me crying saying 'daddy someone is trying to hurt the neighbor, '” Willis said.

People who live around here don’t believe this was random.

“I think these people know Mr. L.C., they know of his accomplishments and what he has done with his life and they probably assumed he had the money from the store on him, ” Willis said.

The search is on for the crooks as Banks continues to recover.

“They could have done that to anybody you don’t want people like that walking the streets. They don’t need to be out, ” Banks said.