Two men were arrested Friday and have been charged with robbing Banks Buy Rite.

At 11:52 a.m. Friday, Pike County Sheriff Russell Thomas said the department received a call that the store had been robbed.

“An individual armed with a handgun entered the Banks Buy Rite and demanded money from the clerk and ordered her to put into a white plastic bag,” Thomas said.

During the incident, several people were inside the store eating lunch.

Thomas said a witness observed a grey Nissan leaving from behind the store with two occupants headed toward Union Springs.

“We notified the surrounding agencies we had a robbery and to be on the lookout,” Thomas said.

Once the vehicle entered Union Springs, officers from the Bullock County Sheriff’s Department and Union Springs Police Department attempted to stop the car.

The two stopped in front of a local school and fled.

Thomas said the school was placed on lockdown because two armed individuals were on the loose.

The Department of Corrections K-9 Unit was called to the scene to track the scent, and the suspects were caught.

Joban Jackson, 25, a resident of 500 Eastdale Road in Montgomery, faces charges of robbery first degree. Thomas said Jackson was the driver of the car and the gunman who entered the store.

Levarius Wheeler, 18, a resident of North Three Notch Street in Troy, also faces charges of robbery first degree.

“We appreciate the help and support from the Bullock County Sheriff’s Department, Union Springs Police Department, Alabama State Troopers and the Alabama Department of Corrections K-9 Unit,” Thomas said.

“I also appreciate the excellent work and quick work of the Pike County Sheriff’s Department of arriving on scene and getting all this information out.”