A night clerk at the Quick Stop convenience store at 339 Williams Road was robbed at gunpoint early Monday, Salinas police said.

The clerk told officers that as the two robbers entered the store about 1:30 a.m., the first one dropped his gun, picked it up, and then racked the slide, causing a live round to eject. He then ordered the clerk to open the registers. The second robber jumped over the counter and double-checked the registers to make sure the clerk was removing all of the money, police said. The first robber fired three rounds into the ceiling, and, as the two left, he leveled the gun at the clerk’s head and hesitated long enough for the clerk to move before firing the gun in the direction the clerk was standing moments earlier, police said.

The first robber is described as a 5’8” male with black collar-length hair and a tattoo on his cheek. He was wearing a blue plaid shirt, dark pants, and had something partially covering his face. The second robber was described as a 5’9” male with a thin build wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt.