FAYETTEVILLE — Fayetteville police continue to search for an armed robber who fatally shot a grocery store employee at a bank's night deposit box Saturday night.

A memorial wreath and flowers sit in front of the IGA supermarket where Mark Scott Adams worked. A giant banner signed by hundreds of somber customers says goodbye to the popular and respected assistant manager.

Police say around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Adams and another employee were attempting to making a night deposit at the First Citizen's Bank on Bragg Boulevard when someone jumped out from nearby bushes and shot Adams.

Adams was hit in the chest, abdomen and the right arm with a single bullet from a .45 caliber gun. He was rushed to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center where he died a short time later. The second employee was not injured.

"When the suspect came out of the bushes he did not make any attempt to talk to the victim. He just pointed a gun at him and fired," says Lt. Bobby Chapman of the Fayetteville Police Department.

Police say that after the shooting the killer ran around the back of the bank with the night deposit bag and disappeared.

Police used dogs to trace the tracks of the suspect.

Store manager Carlie C. McLamb said losing Adams is like losing a family member.

"I think it was somebody that had been in and around the business within the last days or months and just decided it was a good target," McLamb speculated about the suspect.

Police do not have much to go on. They were hoping the bank's surveillance tape would help provide clues, but investigators say they have not found anything.

Police say they only have a vague description of the suspect. They are looking for a man in his twenties who wore a black jacket, black pants and a black hat.

They believe someone who might have been in that area the night of the murder could help crack the case.

Anyone with information is asked to call910-433-1856or Crimestoppers at910-483-TIPS. andJohn McDonnellandMichelle Singer