Victoria Lundy was working at Statesville Discount Tobacco and Vape on Sunday, Nov. 8, when the robbery occurred. She told reporters she initially believed she had been shot in the head.

The impact left her with injuries that required more than two dozen stitches to her head and face. Lundy said she is grateful the blow did not cause serious brain damage.

"The whole adrenaline, everything, was, 'I have to make it out alive. That's all I have to do,'" Lundy said.

Statesville police said the masked man fled with cash. Investigators have released surveillance images showing the suspect dressed entirely in black and wearing a mask.

As she bled from her wounds, Lundy said her thoughts turned to her five children. She was relieved that some of them, who sometimes accompanied her to work on Sundays, had not come with her that day.

"I have to stay awake, because I have to get home to my kids," she recalled. "That was the only thing that kept me going."

Lundy said she is sharing her account in the hope that it helps prevent another worker from being hurt. She said she fears the attacker will strike again.

"I want him caught. I don't want to be scared to go back to work," she said. "I 100% think he'll do this again if he hasn't already done this again. And it's not worth it to anybody. We need to catch him."

Statesville police are urging anyone with information about the robbery or the suspect's identity to come forward. The case remains under investigation.