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Cashier pistol whipped during violent robbery in Brockton

BROCKTON, Mass. — Police in Brockton are searching for a man who pistol whipped a cashier while robbing Perkins Market in Brockton on Saturday afternoon.

The altercation was recorded thanks to surveillance cameras inside the store, but the family who runs the business say its the second store they own that'd been robbed in recent months.

The robbery was reported at around 3 p.m. after a masked man walked into the store and shows the female cashier he has a gun.

When the suspect saw the male cashier hiding behind the counter trying to call 911, he put his gun to the man's head. He then repeatedly hit the man with his weapon and dragged him to the front of the counter, kicking him in the head the whole way.

It was when the female cashier locked the suspect inside the store that he panicked until he found an unlocked back hatch to run from.

Upon arrival, police found a rubber tip, indicating the suspect had a fake gun.

The Patel family also owns Super Value Liquors, located just a few miles away from Perkins Market, which was also robbed not too long ago.

In November, Nick Patel was closing up shop when three men with knives came in and ransacked the store, punching him in the face and taking off with the register.

"They run behind me, and he punched me on my nose and he cut my finger," he said. "I hope they catch them and it never happens again."

Between these two violent crimes, the owners say it's becoming too risky to run a store.

The family has run these businesses in Brockton for years, but more and more they say they're worried about who's going to walk in the door.

Mayor Bill Carpenter issued a statement saying the incident is "a very active investigation" and that police are continuing "to gather evidence and they hope to have the people responsible behind bars very soon."

"Although this business owner had another store hit last year, violent crime is down in the city," Mayor Carpenter added. "We understand that's no consolation to the victims (but) rest assured we're taking this seriously."