An international student working at a Warilla convenience store gave the morning’s takings to an armed robber at the weekend after the hooded thief produced a knife and told him: ‘‘Open the till or I will stab you.’’
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Owners of the Lucky 7 Convenience Store say they have since examined CCTV footage showing the man waited until the George Street shop was empty of customers before he entered at 10.55am on Sunday.
Gokul Nair, a 23-year-old university student from Kerala, in India’s south-west, was alone inside.
He told police the man came behind the counter, produced a folding knife and told him to open the till.
Mr Nair at first denied the request, prompting the man to make his threat.
‘‘He was pointing the knife closer to me,’’ Mr Nair said.
‘‘My hands were shaking ... I had to open the till.’’
The man, described as about 180 centimetres tall, with dark blonde hair, arrived and departed on a pushbike. He was last seen heading west along George Street.
The hold-up was one of two in Warilla on Sunday.
The Caltex Service Station on Shellharbour Road was also targeted in a separate incident in the evening.
About 6.15pm a man walked into the station shop with a handsaw.
He threatened customers and a 28-year-old man working behind the counter and demanded money.
He fled after staff handed over an undisclosed sum.
General duties police, detectives, the dog squad and forensic service officers have all since attended the service station.
Police from Lake Illawarra Local Area Command spent Monday morning doorknocking neighbouring businesses in search of witnesses.
The investigation into the convenience store robbery has included a fingerprint examination and will be aided by CCTV footage.
Teena Thankachan, who owns Lucky 7 with her husband Jomon John, said armed thefts were an ordeal for small businesses and their staff.
‘‘Incidents like this are really scary for the people that work here,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s not a big Woolworths or Coles. [Financially] it’s really affected us.’’
Police have called on anyone who can assist their investigations to contact Lake Illawarra Police Station on 4232 5599.
