A late-night robbery left two store clerks shaken but physically unharmed in the first armed robbery of 2010 in Barnwell.

The Barnwell Police Department is seeking two men in relation to the robbery. One or both suspects were injured during the incident.

At about 10:23 p.m., Jan. 24, a man came to the front of the Morris Quick & Easy convenience store at 10077 Marlboro Ave. in Barnwell, said Barnwell Police Chief Todd Gantt.

"The clerks had the doors locked and were closing up," he said.

The first suspect used a shotgun to blast out the glass in the front door and entered, Gantt said.

Shortly after the first suspect entered, a second man came inside. The suspects demanded money and went behind the store counter and retrieved an undisclosed amount of cash, Gantt said.

"All we know right now is there was at least one weapon and at least one shot fired," he said.

Neither store clerk was physically injured during the incident. There were no customers in the store at the time, he said.

The suspects pointed the gun or guns at the clerks during the robbery, Gantt said.

Details of the incident are still being confirmed right now as police sort through witness reports and other information, Gantt said.
"We are in the early stages of the investigation," he said.

Right now police have made no arrests.

One or both suspects during the robbery received severe lacerations. Whether the cuts were inflicted when the glass door was blown out or when the suspect or suspects tried to knock broken glass out of the door frame, Gantt said he didn't know.

A call over emergency channels requested hospitals in the region to be on the alert for any people entering the emergency room with suspicious cuts.

"There was what I would call a significant blood loss at the scene," Gantt said. "I want it out there that they were cut. Blood loss would mean they probably would seek medical attention."

Dog teams from the Barnwell County Sheriff's Office tracked the blood trail.

"The dogs did excellent. Sometimes you couldn't see 15 yards in front of you (for the rain) but they kept at it," he said.

Two articles of clothing were found on the trail, Gantt said.

"Some of the things they found matched what the victims described," he said.

As the dog team moved from the convenience store toward Calhoun Street, the perimeter the police created shifted, at times blocking traffic on Jackson, Main and Allen Streets.

Police and the dog teams were working against another obstacle that night -- the weather.

Earlier that day the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch until 1 a.m. At about 10:45 p.m., heavy rains began falling, threatening to wash away the blood trail.

Rain and gusting winds caused brief power outages in the city and triggered several business burglar alarms, Gantt said.

Traffic lights along Dunbarton Boulevard failed with the loss of electricity, which added to the mayhem, he said.

"There were about 15 things going on at once," Gantt said. "We had to check all the alarms and post officers at the intersections to prevent wrecks."

Anyone with details about the robbery can call Crime Stompers, a local hotline, at (803) 671-1688. The caller can remain anonymous.