An armed robber shot and wounded a cashier at the Family Dollar in Columbia Saturday morning, and police are searching for two suspects.
Detective Capt. Rita Pickering said they received the call at 10:08 a.m.
“The cashier is a 52-year-old female, whose name we aren’t releasing at this time. She was taken to Forrest General Hospital and is currently in stable condition. I spoke with her earlier and she received two gunshot wounds to the lower neck area,” Pickering said.
Pickering said two suspects were involved in the incident, which occurred at the store at 412 S. High School Ave.
“They were wearing long jackets, toboggans and scarves that covered their faces,” she said. “One stayed in the doorway as the lookout man and the other approached the register. He shouted at the clerk to give him the money. She did, but he fired two shots that struck her.”
Officers are studying surveillance footage from the store and other nearby businesses.
“They may have left on foot,” Pickering said. “They ran out to the right of the store. We don’t know if they had a vehicle parked somewhere or not. We asked several people who were in the area, and no one seemed to see anything.”
Columbia Fire Department first responders and AAA Ambulance Service responded to the scene.
The armed robbery is the second such incident in Marion County in a week. Marion County Sheriff’s Department deputies are still seeking information in an armed robbery that occurred at Cox’s Triangle around 2:30 a.m. Jan. 6. No suspects have been identified in that incident as of yet.
If you have information on the armed robbery at Family Dollar, contact the Columbia Police Department at (601) 736-8204.
