The Taqueria Number 1 Mexican restaurant on East Independence Boulevard near Eastway Drive was robbed at gunpoint shortly before 10 p.m. Friday, according to police.

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The victim, who did not want to be identified, said the man pointed a gun at her chest and demanded cash.

She said “No.”

Then the man turned off the safety on the pistol.

“He put the gun on me,” she told Channel 9. “I have a family. I said, ‘My God,’ and I thought the worst.”

That is when the store owner, Ruben Granados, intervened and told her to give the man all of the cash.

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“I told her to give it,” he recalled. “Give it all and don’t expose your life”.

Police don’t have a very good description of the man, but said he put the cash in his backpack and took off.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said there has been an increase in robberies targeting the Hispanic population.

Community leaders say the assumption that Hispanic people only deal with cash is driving the trend.

Granados agrees.

“For me, it is not the first time it has happened to me,” Granados said. “It has happened to me several times. You are used to it and you are exposed.”

Police are relying on tips from the public because they only have a vague description of the perpetrator.

Call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or submit your tip online if you have information.

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