Lawrence police were searching for a suspect Wednesday afternoon who used a pistol to rob a clothing store in one of Lawrence’s busiest shopping centers.

An armed man entered Maurice’s, 3226 Iowa, around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday. When police arrived, the suspect had left the area “in an unknown direction,” said Sgt. Bill Cory, a police spokesman.

Cory described the suspect as a white man with gray hair in a pony tail. He had a short gray beard and wore a gray hooded sweatshirt, light-colored jeans and a black baseball cap.

Several officers began processing the crime scene Wednesday afternoon at the store to determine what was taken. They were also interviewing witnesses. Patrol officers and detectives were searching the shopping center area near 31st and Iowa streets.

Wednesday afternoon Cory said police were still trying to determine whether it could be connected to similar robberies in the area. Police did not immediately release a vehicle description.

Cory said the incident is a reminder for the public to be cautious at all times.

“They do happen at all times of the day,” he said. “Typically if you think of a robbery, they don’t happen in the middle of the afternoon when all of the stores are open with possibly customers coming in and out of the business and the businesses right next to it.”

Anyone with information in the case can call police at 785-832-7509 or the Tips Hotline at 785-843-TIPS.