The Darlington County sheriff’s office investigates an armed robbery in Lydia Wednesday night,.
The sheriff’s office is ramping up its resources, to help prevent situations like this from happening.
“We had a few break-ins a while back and it’s really sad,” said resident Alfred Wilds.
The Darlington County sheriff’s office responded to an armed robbery at the Dollar General. Investigators said two suspects with handguns demanded cigarettes and money.
“It’s really bad. There’s plenty of jobs and plenty of work now, people really don’t have to do what they do,” said Wilds.
Just down the street on West Lydia Highway, the Family Dollar was robbed back in January and February. These robberies have some residents on edge.
“I’ve been in the community for the last 11 years. I got some nice neighbors, nice people, we really don’t have any trouble but it’s really surprising to hear this,” said Wilds.
Mr. B’s seafood is across the street from the family dollar and the owner said they’ve made a few changes so they don’t become the next victim.
“We have included more cameras to our system and they also have sound on them. We’re just being more cautious, and watching people. We make sure we lock the exit door at the end of the day because of course we can’t lock it until the last person leaves. We try to lock it as soon as we can,” said business owner, Reba Goff.
People who often shop at these dollar stores said they don’t feel safe when they do last minute shopping runs at night.
“You want to protect yourself but you don’t want to hurt anybody. It’s just one of those things I guess. You just have to be more cautious and careful,” said Wilds.
Lt. Kilgo with the Darlington County sheriff’s office told News13 Sheriff Tony Chavis requested additional deputies in his proposed budged for the next fiscal year.
