An elderly woman was taken hostage and thrown to the ground Thursday morning during an armed robbery at a liquor store in Palmdale.
Surveillance video from the robbery shows a masked man immediately grabbing the woman by the neck as he enters the store. He pulls the 83-year-old around the store counter and throws her to the ground.
A store clerk puts her hands up and steps back from the register as the robber pulls the elderly woman. The man then hands an empty bag to the clerk and demands money from two registers.
"I was just blind. I was just thinking why someone would want to do this. It's terrifying," said the clerk, who asked to remain anonymous.
Palmdale sheriff's detectives believe the same man robbed the store in late November.
The clerk, who is four and a half months pregnant, was also behind the counter during that robbery.
She said she now fears going to work each morning.
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Palmdale sheriff's detectives were seeking additional information on the armed robber.
