Police are searching for the suspect behind an armed robbery in central Nanaimo.
The robbery happened at 7 p.m. Thursday when a masked man with a gun entered the Esso gas bar at 1050 North Terminal Ave.
"There was nobody else in the store except the clerk," said Const. Gary O'Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman. "A guy came in – his face covered with a mask and hoodie – shoved a gun in the clerk's face, pushed him to the ground, grabbed money from the till and ran out."
Police were on the scene quickly, O'Brien said, but were unable to track down the culprit.
The male clerk, 21, was uninjured, but badly shaken by the incident and is being tended to by RCMP Victim Services.
The suspect was wearing a purple mask, dark-colour hoodie and brandished a silver handgun.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.nanaimocrimestoppers.com.