Teenage girls accused of armed robbery at Wrightwood market

A 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl are accused of brandishing a knife and spraying an employee in the face with a "chemical agent" when they were confronted about stealing from a Wrightwood market on Wednesday, authorities said.

The incident unfolded about 11:15 a.m. at Wrightwood Fine Foods, 1340 Highway 2, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

The young suspects, both Victorville residents, went into the shop and starting putting merchandise in their backpacks, sheriff's officials said in a written statement .

"As they started to leave with the items, store personnel attempted to stop them," according to the statement. "One of the juveniles brandished a knife at an employee and the other juvenile sprayed a chemical agent in the employee’s face."

The girls fled the store and the employee ran outside and flagged down a passing deputy to report the robbery, officials said.

The two teenage suspects were quickly apprehended during a search of the area, officials said.

They were both taken to the High Desert Juvenile Detention and Assessment Center.

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Anyone with information was asked to contact the Sheriff's Victor Valley Station at (760) 552-6800. Information may also be submitted anonymously to the We-Tip hotline at (800) 782-7462.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Teenage girls accused of armed robbery at Wrightwood market