Around 8:45 a.m. on Black Friday the Lynchburg Police Department said a robbery took place at Miles Market on Rivermont Avenue.
The Owner, Muhammad Farooq, said he got a terrifying wake-up call from his cashier.
"She called me right around 8:42," Farooq explained. "'Come to the store, come to the store.' I said, 'What happened?' She said, 'Somebody robbed me.'
Surveillance footage from the outside of the market showed the exiting their vehicle before coming inside to buy a carton of cigarettes.
Farooq said that's where the problems began.
"The last month, somebody came and picked up like five cartons of cigarettes and ran away," Farooq said.
He said that they made changes to prevent that from happening again.
"If you're going to sell it, get the money first, and then sell a carton," Farooq said, explaining the new protocol. "She (the cashier) asked the same thing, 'Give me your money, so I give you a carton.' She (the suspect) said, 'No, just pack up the carton.' She (the cashier) said, 'No, I'm not going to pack up the carton. You have to give me money.'"
That's when the suspect came behind the counter and threatened the cashier.
"She told her she was going to shoot, don't call the police," Farooq said. "She said, 'You are in the hood baby.' She said, 'I have your car number and everything. If you call the police, somebody going to get you.'"
The suspect stole over $1,500 in cash from the register, according to Farooq.
"She was saying how like you came from Pakistan and different countries here," said Farooq. "And, 'I just came to take some profit from you guys.'"
He said that punishments need to be harsher to prevent crimes like this.
"People have to realize if there's a crime, they get punished," he said. "You do new crimes, and you feel joy, and nothing happens."
Around 11:30 a.m. LPD said a woman was arrested after leaving the scene of the robbery.
Police said no one had been injured. An undisclosed amount of cash was taken from the cash register, police said.
A sergeant on the scene said there is no threat to the community.
The Lynchburg Police Department initially tweeted about the incident, describing a suspect and getaway car.
LPD named Ayanna Paige as the suspect and charged her with robbery. She was arrested without incident help from members of the community, LPD said.
Anyone with information about the incident should contact Detective Bond at 434-455-6161. The robbery is under investigation.