Richmond, VA—The owner of a Church Hill convenience store who was robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight found herself in the same scary situation just a week later.
Yun Nelson, who is affectionately called "Ms. Kim" by residents, has owned Night and Day Grocery for 19 years. In the last week, Nelson has been robbed twice.
The first incident, an armed robbery in broad daylight happened Monday, January 21; the second robbery happened just seven days later, Monday, January 30.
8News reporter Nadeen Yanes talked to Nelson about the robbery last week.
A store employee James Wright described the robbery saying a suspicious man walked in and asked for assistance.
"He came and asked me for some bread and I went back to the freezer," said Wright.
When Wright was in the freezer, Nelson says the man slipped behind the bulletproof glass at the counter, pointed a gun at her and demanded money.
"He said, ‘I am so sorry I have to do [this] to you'," Ms. Kim told 8News about the robbery suspect.
Nelson says she used to keep a gun in the store, but it made her uneasy so she removed it. At the time of the robbery, she only had a small baseball bat behind the counter.
When the robber fled the scene, he threw the gun used during the crime into an alley. When police retrieved it, they discovered it was a toy gun.
Her family wants her to move from the area, and Ms. Kim admits the crime has made her uneasy. She's debating closing up her shop for good, which is a community hotspot.
Police continue to investigate the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
Copyright 2013 by Young Broadcasting of Richmond.
