GASTONIA, N.C. -- Police have arrested three men and three girls they said are connected to a Gaston County robbery that happened Monday afternoon. Investigators said they could also be connected to several other violent robberies across the Charlotte area.

Officers said one of the men went into the Dollar General on North New Hope Road in Gastonia around 5:15 p.m. and was joined a few minutes later by two men with guns. Police said the men robbed the store and each of the six customers inside at gunpoint before fleeing out the back door. Sgt. Jeff Clark said the robbers injured a 65-year-old woman while trying to take her purse.

Officers from Gastonia and several police agencies from surrounding towns searched a residential area for the thieves shortly after the robbery and found the vehicle they said was the getaway car. They arrested Dynash Jackson, Tykeam Jackson and Trisco McFarland.

Police also took three girls, ages 13 to 15, who were also in the vehicle into custody. Officers said they will likely face juvenile charges.

Police said the suspects are likely the same people who robbed a Dollar General in Cramerton several weeks ago. During that robbery an elderly woman was injured.

McFarland made his first appearance in court Tuesday afternoon. He was wanted in connection to a Charlotte break-in and was convicted last year on an accessory after the fact of a robbery charge. He’s now being held on $750,000 bond.

Investigators said they looked into the possibility that the men could be connected to robberies and shootings in Charlotte and Fort Mill. A clerk was shot to death at a check cashing business in Fort Mill last week. However, they have not found any evidence to connect the suspects to those robberies.