One customer's nightmare was caught on video when he left a zip mart at2:30 a.m. As he walked out the door, two men with a gun attacked him, tookhis jewelry and his cash, then shot him in the leg.
Watch a QuickTime video of the robbery on a storesurveillance camera.
Police say criminals often target convenience stores. Despite that, a lotof people shop there at night.
Since January, there have been 28 convenience store robberies in Raleigh, up 4 from this same time last year.
"To tell you the truth as far as I am concerned this is the most dangerousjob aside from being a policeman," said Frank Maldini, convenience storemanager.
Maldini has been robbed twice at gun point. After the incidents, heboosted security at the store. Now, there are always two people on duty, and two surveillance cameras record everything.
Police also said that lights play a big part in keeping criminals away.
"Criminals do like that cover of darkness that makes them feel more powerful and more in control," said Sgt. Brenda Elmore, Crime Prevention.
Elmore said the best thing customers or workers can do is pay attention towhat's going on around them.
Police said the way to ensure safety is to do all shopping during daylighthours.
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