A robber holding a gun on an Advance America cashier Monday apologized to the woman for his actions but went ahead with his robbery even after praying with her.

“He said that he hated to have to do this, but times were hard and he had no choice,” cashier Angela Montez, 43, told police, according to a police report.

The incident occurred at 3:30 p.m. at Advance America’s payday loan location at 9421 E. Washington St. on the Far Eastside.

Montez began crying when she realized the man’s intentions, she told police. She began to talk to the man about God, she said, telling him he still had a chance to refrain from committing the crime.

The man told Montez he had a 2-year-old child to support and then asked her to pray with him about overcoming his hardships. The two got down on their knees and prayed, remaining there for nearly 10 minutes, police said.

In response to the woman’s kindness, the man took a bullet out of his handgun and gave it to her, according to the report, telling the clerk it was his only bullet and promising not to hurt her. He then asked Montez for a hug.

Despite the heart-to-heart talk, the man was not dissuaded from his plans. He took the woman’s cell phone and told her to go into the restroom and to refrain from calling police for 20 minutes.

The man took $20 in $5 bills from the cash drawer, according to the report, leaving the rest of the cash in the drawer.

Late Monday, police were searching for the man, whose image was captured on an in-store video, said Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Sgt. Paul Thompson.