PARMA, Mo. -- A store clerk was shot to death during an apparent armed robbery in Southeast Missouri.

New Madrid County Sheriff Terry Stevens said Brenda Smith, 59, of rural Parma was shot and killed about 5:30 a.m. Monday as she and another employee were opening the D&L One Stop.

Stevens said as the women were unlocking the door of the convenience store at 108 Main St., a man dressed in black forced his way in behind them.

"He demanded money at gunpoint and shot one of the women in the head with a fatal shot," Stevens said.

The assailant took a few items from the store, fleeing on foot.

The victim was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where she later was pronounced dead. Stevens said the second woman was not harmed, although she was "pretty shook up."

Officers from the New Madrid County Sheriff's Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Parma Police Department and the SEMO Major Case Squad began an investigation Monday morning.

The assailant is described as a black man from 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9 with a medium build.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the New Madrid County sheriff's office at 573-748-2516 or local police.

Anyone with information that leads to an arrest and conviction of the offender can be eligible for a $25,000 reward, according to a news release from the SEMO Major Case Squad.