CONCORD, N.C. -- Two people were shot and killed during an apparent robbery at a Concord business early Friday, authorities said.

Police identified the victims just before 5 p.m. as 59-year-old Donna Barnhardt, an employee, and 44-year-old Darrell Noles. Both were from Concord.

Officers said around 10 a.m. an employee at the Sun Drop Bottling Company near the intersection of Branchview Drive and Cabarrus Avenue called 911. He said he heard several shots, ran into the front office and saw the victims on the floor.

Concord Deputy Chief Guy Smith said the employee then saw a man running toward Branchview Avenue carrying what looked like a cash box.

Eyewitness News reporter Ron Magnuson asked Smith about the box.

"Does that give you the idea that maybe this was a robbery?” Magnuson said.

“I don't know. It's possible, but it's going to take us some time to get more information," he said.

Concord Police Sgt. Lisa Linker said police used dogs and helicopters to search the area. Dozens of officers are still staked out around a perimeter and watching a nearby wooded area.

"We have 25 to 30 investigators who are following every lead," Smith said. "When someone is carrying a box from the scene, you want to talk to them."

Karen Sheffield lives in the area and said she can't believe two people were killed at a business in her neighborhood.

"When I came by, I knew something bad had happened and it looked really bad. The first thing that went in my mind was a shooting," she said.

Police said they don't know the shooter's identity or if there was a relationship between the shooter and the victims. Officers have not said what Noles was doing at the business, but a family member said he was there to apply for a part-time job.

Barnhardt had worked at Sun Drop Bottling Company for 18 years.

The gunman is described as a black man with dreadlocks, who was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Concord Police Department at (704) 920-5000.

The Sun Drop Bottling Company bottles a variety of sodas and spring water.