Police asked Tuesday for the public’s help in solving the Monday night robbery of an appliance store, in which two men held employees at gunpoint, bound them and fled with cash.

The robbery happened shortly before 10 p.m. Monday at Rex TV, 2800 Iowa.

As the store was about to close, two men burst in through the front door with guns drawn, district manager Joe Yost said.

The assailants ordered all three employees — a manager, assistant manager and salesman — to the ground. The robbers ordered one of the men to open the cash register, took all the money from it, then ordered the employee back to the ground and bound all three men with duct tape, said Sgt. Mike Pattrick, a police spokesman.

The assailants left through the back door of the store, but it’s unknown whether they departed on foot or in a vehicle, Pattrick said.

One of the victims was able to free himself and called police, Pattrick said. No one was injured, and no gunshots were fired.

Yost said it was business as usual at the store Tuesday, but that employees were shaken up. Both of the robbers at some point held a gun to the employees’ heads, he said.

“They feel violated,” Yost said.

One of the men was about 6 feet tall and wore a red, hooded sweatshirt and a cloth over his face, Pattrick said. A description of the second man wasn’t available.

Pattrick asked anyone with information to call the Lawrence Police Department’s detectives at 830-7430 or the Crime Stoppers hot line at 843-TIPS (8477). Callers may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

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