Employee attacked in teen robbery spree says incident left her scared

An employee at a Marlborough Mall jewelry store says she was left scared and shaken after she was assaultedwhile trying to stop a group of teens from looting her store during a robbery spree.

The employee, who agreed to speak withCBCNewsif her identity was kept confidential, works at Naomi, which was the first location targeted in the four-hour spree that hit all quadrants of the city and ended with the arrest of seven people.

She said she was working alone Tuesday nightwhen she noticed a familiar group of teens, who she said are banned from the location.

She said that within the span of a minute, theperpetratorsgrabbed four trays of silver and gold-plated necklaces and bracelets.

"I tried to get the tray, then they grabbed it and they hit me in the head," she said.

The employee said this is the first time she has ever been the victim of a robbery, and it left her shaken.

"When I went to leave the store I was scared because they know my face," she said."I covered my head and I masked my face because I'm scared."

Robberies not common, say employees

The teens' spree continued on to a southeastCostco, a southwest Best Buy,Market Mall in northwest Calgary and two separate Walmart locations.

Four of the seven arrested, who are between the ages of 13 and 17, are facing charges.

Charges are pending against two others while anotheryouth was released.

Marlborough Mall shops saidshoplifting is a common occurrence at the retail centre, but robberies are far more rare.

Marlborough Mall is a bit safer than most people seem to assume- CaleighCassidy, Sunshine Records employee

"There's been a fewrobberies, but Marlborough Mall is a bit safer than most people seem to assume," said CaleighCassidy, who works at Sunshine Records.

Cassidy said she doesn't generally feel nervous while working in the retail outlet. She said staffers at her store are trained well on how to react.

Najeeb Shoukat, the owner of Sparkle Jeweleryin the mall, said his employees' safety is more important than the product, so they do their best to keep these types of incidents from happening.

"We try to lock as much as possible, don't show big pieces, we don't put big pieces outside, everything is in," he said. "Wetry to be safer on our end so we don't run into something like that."

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With files from Elizabeth Withey.