Washington police are looking for a man who robbed a Carolina Avenue business on Friday afternoon.

Shortly before 1 p.m. Friday, a man walked into O’Reilly Auto Parts in Washington, showed one employee a small, black automatic handgun and demanded cash from the registers, according to Washington Police and Fire Services Director Stacy Drakeford. Another employee walked inside from helping a customer outside as the crime was taking place, and cash from his register was demanded, as well, Drakeford said.

The store was robbed of approximately $550 from the two registers.

Drakeford said the robber came in wearing a mask and dressed in all-black clothing, including a hoodie and jeans. He’s described as a black male, about five-feet, eight-inches tall.

At that time of day, the store had plenty of customers, Drakeford said, and employees alerted the store’s alarm company as the crime was in progress.

It is believed that the suspect drove away from the store in a white, early 2000-model Ford Explorer, Drakeford said.

Armed robbery is rare in Washington, according to authorities, however, last year saw two notable robberies: the April robbery of First Bank on West 15^th Street in April and the armed robbery of a man on the 600 block of Hudnell Street in late July.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call the Washington Police Department at 252-946-1444 or Beaufort County Crime Stoppers at 252-974-6400.