GASTONIA, N.C. -- Two masked and armed robbers broke in through the roof of a grocery store Monday morning, surprising management and customers.
It happened at the Food Lion on New Hope Road in north Gastonia just as the store opened for business.
"My husband called and said, 'We have a problem.' And I said, 'What kind of problem?'" said Christal Thompson, whose husband is one of the managers at the Food Lion.
He was among at least 10 workers and customers held at gunpoint.
"I said, 'Oh my gosh. Are you OK?'" Thompson said.
Her husband had been tied up and locked in a trailer behind the store, while others had been tied up elsewhere. Police say the gunmen wore masks and took their victims' cell phones and some cash.
"Looks like they may have been on the roof. Pretty unusual for that type of robbery," said Gastonia police Detective Mike Chambers.
Investigators say the robbers stole Thompson's husband's truck and used it as the getaway car. But the OnStar system inside helped police track it to a field off a nearby road. Search dogs worked with the SWAT team looking for the two gunmen, but they haven't been located.
Nearby homes and businesses got phone calls about two men in the area considered armed and dangerous.
"It's scary, terrifying really. You wouldn't think of that happening in the shopping center -- not at this time of the morning," said Brenda Allen, who works just a few doors down from the Food Lion.
No one was hurt, but one of the customers was so shaken, she was taken to a hospital for treatment.
