RESERVE — The stakes Tuesday night in Reserve were tense, with as many as four individuals descending upon Dollar General with steely determination to rob and answer resistance with deadly violence, if necessary, police said.

“They were hell bent on committing this crime no matter what it took and no matter who they had to hurt or kill,” St. John Sheriff Mike Tregre said. “They were just determined, and I’m thankful no one was killed. They were prepared to do whatever it took to be successful.”

At approximately 11 p.m. two employees exited the Airline Highway discount variety store after closing.

That’s when two armed men, their faces obscured by white masks, appeared and demanded the employees back away from their cars and re-enter the store.

The employees defied the gunmen, each entering their vehicles and trying to speed away.

According to the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office, the gunmen fired their weapons at the two moving vehicles, striking both.

One vehicle occupant, a 46-year-old female, was shot in the knee and hand, causing her to crash and sustain additional head injuries from the collision with a culvert. Police said the second employee drove off only to be shot at, as well, leading her to crash the vehicle. She escaped without physical injury after fleeing on foot.

The gunmen left the scene immediately after the shooting, according to police.

Tregre said emergency medical services administered aid to the shooting victim, who was taken to University Hospital and expected to recover.

Coworker Renee Dunning, who was not present Tuesday, said her other coworker was “pretty traumatized” and still recovering.

The shooting brought up concerns within the community about security for late-night employees.

“We all have been saying that our store needed to have some type of security on duty every night,” Dunning said.

The gunmen’s plan was to force the employees back into Dollar General to help in their robbery, with police indicating as many as two lookouts may have also been involved Tuesday night in a plan that was days or weeks in the making.

“Officers canvassed the area, and we located one individual who was brought in for questioning,” Tregre said of law enforcement’s immediate response. “From the questioning of the first individual, that led us to the other suspect. The case just started to come together after that.”

Detectives developed Glenn Lee Jr., 19, of Reserve and Antone Henderson, 20, of LaPlace as suspects, and each was arrested Wednesday, charged with attempted armed robbery and attempted first degree murder.

Both are being held in the parish jail in lieu of $560,000 bonds.

Police said they communicated with the shooting victim.

“They tried to get her to come back in, she refused and that is when they started to open fire,” Tregre said. “They had this plan figured out a while back and (Tuesday) night they attempted to execute it.

“The investigation came together very quickly, so we are confident we have the shooters. We’re trying to tie up some loose ends as to who may have been a lookout. The investigators did a good job. They were out there all night.”