A clerk and four customers waiting in line Saturday at Flash Foods in the 1000 block of West Oglethorpe Highway reportedly were robbed at gunpoint by a man shortly before 10 p.m.

According to an incident report filed by Hinesville Police Officer Jeffrey Haiungs, who was the first to respond to the robbery call, he arrived and saw several people leaving the convenience store. Store clerk Bobby Harrington was talking on the phone. Haiungs began gathering information and learned that the victims were in line to pay for their items when a man wearing a black hoodie and a white handkerchief over his face came into the store with a silver revolver. Standing near the door, the man allegedly yelled at the store patrons,  “Give me all your money.”  

Assuming the suspect was joking, the patrons did not respond until the man pointed the gun at them. As they realized they were in the middle of  a holdup, each customer handed over their cash except for one woman, who reportedly refused to hand over her money.

According to the report, the suspect pushed the revolver into the woman's ribs and she surrendered $40 in cash. The gunman then reportedly ordered the clerk, Harrington, to hand over the cash inside the register, which likely held several hundred dollars. 

 As the gunman was leaving the store, Hinojosa said something to the suspect, who reportedly turned around and asked the woman, “You think this is a (expletive) joke?” 

The suspect then ran out the store to the right side of the building and into the woods behind the store, according to the report. Officers immediately set up a perimeter around the area and called in a K9 unit to locate the man, but he eluded officers. 

Authorities said they are looking for a black male in his early 20s, who is about 5 feet, 11 inches tall with a slim build. 

Police estimate the man took between $3 and $40 from each victim and a cell phone valued at $195.