It was a terrifying end to a shift for Great Harvest Bread Co. employee Tolgay Figarelli.

Last month, Figarelli was taking out the trash at closing time when a man approached her in the alley behind the store. The man pointed a gun at Figarelli as she tried to get into the store to safety, but the man chased her.

Figarelli said the man yelled, “I will shoot you if you don’t stop,” as he forced her to the floor while he emptied the register.

Figarelli’s experience at Great Harvest was one of several armed robberies of stores in Lawrence in January. But statistics show store robberies — although they involve weapons more frequently than other robberies — actually have decreased in the past three years.

Some key statistics:

• Robberies of Lawrence stores dropped from 23 in 2007 to five in 2008, and there were eight in 2009.

• Robberies of stores accounted for about 16 percent of all robberies in Lawrence between 2007 and 2009.

• Weapons were used in 66 percent of store robberies in Lawrence, compared with only 27 percent in other robberies.

Not at my store

It’s best for store employees or owners to do exactly as a robber requests, said Jeff Lenard, spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores.

“Give them what they want and let them get out of there,” he said. Statistics show that employees who resist a robber are nearly 50 times more likely to be injured, he said.

Lenard offered tips for preventing and reducing robberies of stores:

• Keep cash at hand to a minimum. Potential criminals still “case a joint” before striking, and if they observe employees using drop boxes for cash, they’re less likely to rob a store.

• Increase visibility in a store. This includes good lighting, lowering the height of merchandise racks, and minimizing the number of signs in windows so more people can see into a store.