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Black Friday Bandits Rob, Terrorize New Jersey Target Store

VAUXHALL, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Some Black Friday bandits were on the run Sunday night, after storming into a Target store in New Jersey with masks and guns and terrorizing some employees.

As CBS 2's Dave Carlin reported exclusively, the police said the robbers chose the rush of Black Friday – the busiest shopping day of the year – to enter the Target in Vauxhall and terrorize and rob.

1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reports

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They blended in with the crowd to execute a brazen plan to hide inside the store until well after closing time, When that time came around, they tied up workers at gunpoint and made off with much of the cash profits from a busy night.

"You would think that somebody would have to know, like, the right time to come, and the right time that they would be pushing the cash to the safe or wherever they push it," a store employee said. "That's amazing."

The employee, who did not want to appear on camera or have his name used, said the two men stayed in the bathroom for hours, preparing their masks and guns and timing it just right to surprise one of the bosses in a secure area of the store.

"They pushed the supervisor into the cash office," the employee said.

Once inside the room where the cash is counted, the men tied up two more Target workers -- a man and a woman.

The woman managed to get herself free and untie the others, but by then the men and the money were long gone.

Witnesses said the men came out this back door and across a roadway at the back of the Target, and down a hill where a chain link fence was knocked to the ground. They were able to go straight through to a getaway car waiting here on the other side.

"(Route) 78 runs right directly behind the store," said Union Township police Detective Lt. Bob Perez. "We know that they left in that direction, so they had to have a car waiting for them."

Police were surprised by the robbers' audacity.

"The fact that they even attempted something like this with as many people who were in the store is pretty brazen," Perez said.

Shoppers who spoke to CBS 2 Sunday night did not know about the crime at the seemingly well-guarded store.

"It is like a movie. It is," said Anne Scherbina, a Target shopper from East Orange "That's crazy."

Another shopper suspected that the robbery might have been an inside job.

"It seems to be kind fishy," added Oscar Guevara, a shopper from Tremont in the Bronx. "It has to be someone who works there who gave out some kind of information knowing what it was all about."

The store manager provided a statement after the robbery: "The safety and security of our guests and team members is of the utmost importance to Target. We are partnering with local law enforcement on this incident."

The store worker said if the two robbers are not tracked down and put behind bars soon, it will be a nervous rest of the holiday season for everyone working at the store.

What are your thoughts on this brazen robbery? Leave your comments below...

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