Woman robs Payless store in St. Clair Shores at gunpoint

ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (WJBK) - St. Clair Shores police are searching for a woman who went to a Payless for more than new shoes.

At first, it t seemed like a normal day at a Payless store in St Clair Shores. A customer walked in around 1 p.m. Thursday looking for shoes, but when she came to the counter to purchase the item things took a drastic turn.

"It took me a second to realize I was getting robbed," said the cashier, who does not want to be identified.

The only staff member in the store, she says she was afraid for her life. The woman told her she had a gun and demanded the money in the register.

"She was counting down from five and she said she would blow my brains out if I did not hurry up and unlock the register," the employee said.

But this nervous cashier wasn't moving fast enough, so the suspect accused her of trying to trick her instead of turning over the money.

"She thought I was stalling and somehow alerting police, when I was not. I was just trying to work under pressure," she said.

When the register finally opened,  the woman took the money and pushed the frantic cashier out of the way before leaving the store, getting away with $180.

Police said this victim did everything right to remain safe. After those terrifying moments, this cashier says its highly unlikely she will return to this store to work again.

"It's not right to just leave one person alone in a potentially dangerous situation," she said. "Have paid security guards."

Police say there have not been any recent robberies at the Payless but the store was robbed within the past 5 years.

Now the search continues for this woman before she strikes again/

"Asking for the community to help take this person off the street before she does something like this again and someone gets hurt," said Det. Gordon Carrier of St. Clair Shores police.