At approximately 10:26 p.m. Sunday night, a victim was sitting in his vehicle at Dollar General in Artesia, located at 419 Lehmberg Road, waiting on an employee to get off work.

Someone wearing a white mask and armed with a shotgun knocked on the window of his vehicle and demanded he get out of his vehicle.

The victim got out of the vehicle and was told to get the employees to open the door at the Dollar General. The victim knocked on the locked doors at of the store and while waiting, the masked subject got into the victim’s vehicle and attempted to leave. The victim’s vehicle was having mechanical problems and turned off while the subject was backing up.

The subject then got out of the vehicle while it was still rolling backwards and ran to another vehicle waiting on Highway 45 S Alt.

The vehicle waiting on the masked subject was dark in color. That vehicle then drove north on Highway 45 S Alt with the two suspects.

At approximately 2:13 am this morning, the same white masked subject, still armed with a shotgun, went into State Line Fuel Center located at 7803 Highway 182 E and attempted to rob the store. During this attempted robbery, the suspect assaulted a worker.

The worker fought with the masked subject and the worker was hit in the head numerous times with the shotgun by the subject who fled from the scene on foot. the worker was transported to BMHGT where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Detectives are now asking for the public’s help in identifying the masked subject involved in both incidents. If you have knowledge of this case or any additional information, please contact the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office at 662-328-6788 or Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at 1-800-530-7151 or access the P3-Tips app.

You will always remain anonymous when you send a tip through Crime Stoppers and you are eligible for a cash reward if your information leads to an arrest.