McCormick police are looking for a man they say held up a Food Lion cashier at gunpoint just before 3 p.m., then took off in a waiting vehicle. The reports did not indicate whether anyone was physically hurt during the robbery.
According to WYFF, McCormick Police Department posted surveillance images Sunday that show a masked man at the register inside the South Mine Street store, where officers say he displayed a handgun at the checkout. Investigators said the suspect left the store and got into a car that was also captured in the photos, and they are asking anyone with information to contact the McCormick Police Department.
Where it happened
The robbery happened at the Food Lion in the Gold Rush Shopping Center on South Mine Street, listed at 314 Mine Street, per YellowPages. The store is located in the Gold Rush Shopping Center on South Mine Street.
Legal context and history
Under South Carolina law, armed robbery is treated as a violent, no-parole offense. McCormick has seen this before: the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office documented a 2017 armed robbery at the same Food Lion that resulted in a conviction and a 10-year prison sentence, according to the SC Eleventh Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office. According to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), South Carolina's robbery rate decreased by 11.7% from 2023 to 2024, continuing an eight-year decline and reaching the lowest rate in the last 30 years. SLED data also show that "Weapon Law Violations increased by 1.8% from 2022 to 2023," and that the weapon law violation rate per 10,000 people rose by 11.1% from 2021 to 2022, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The South Carolina Judicial System provides a Case Records Search where court cases can be looked up by name or docket number, according to the South Carolina Judicial Branch. Court records for McCormick County are handled through the McCormick County Courthouse (Judicial Circuit: 11) at 133 South Mine Street, Room 102, McCormick, SC 29835, per the South Carolina Judicial System.
How to help
McCormick police have asked anyone who saw the suspect, the vehicle, or any suspicious activity around the Gold Rush Shopping Center to call the department with tips. Police posted the surveillance images and asked the public to call with information, per WYFF.
