Police have asked for the public's help in their search for a trench-coat clad man who walked into a cell phone store, pulled out a shotgun from under his coat and demanded money.

The armed robbery took place last Friday at the Metro PCS store on South 14th Street in Fernandina Beach.

The clerk working at the store said he never expected the robbery because to him the gunman looked like a "frat boy" in his early 20s who was very clean cut. The clerk, Ryan Beeler, said the last thing he expected was for the man to pull out a gun.

Beeler said he greeted the man, thinking he was a customer.

"He opened the door, and then turned around a closed it behind himself, which is not normal of course. He then flipped the lock. Well, I was thinking something definitely was wrong but I wasn?t sure what it was," Beeler said.

He said he realized what was going on when the man showed him a shotgun.

A surveillance camera in the store caught the entire robbery on tape. It shows Beeler handing over money to the robber.

The clerk said that's when things got even more frightening.

"As soon as he had me tied up, that's when I lost it. I really thought I was going to die that night," Beeler said.

The armed robber ran off, and Beeler was able to free himself from the rope and call 911.

Beeler said he hopes the community takes a close look at the surveillance images to help police make an arrest.

"This area is not known for violence in general. I mean, we definitely need to catch him so it doesn?t happen again to someone else," Beeler said.

Deputies at the Nassau County Sheriff's Office said a witness saw the armed man get into a four-door, blue vehicle that may have been a Nissan Sentra.

Anyone with information about the crime or who committed it should call the sheriff's office at 904-225-5174.