An employee at a Marlborough Mall jewelry store says she was left scared and shaken after she was assaulted while trying to stop a group of teens from looting her store during a robbery spree.

The employee, who agreed to speak with CBC News if her identity was kept confidential, works at Naomi, which was the first location targeted in the four-hour spree that hit all quadrants of the city and ended with the arrest of seven people.

She said she was working alone Tuesday night when she noticed a familiar group of teens, who she said are banned from the location.

She said that within the span of a minute, the perpetrators grabbed four trays of silver and gold-plated necklaces and bracelets.

"I tried to get the tray, then they grabbed it and they hit me in the head," she said.

The employee said this is the first time she has ever been the victim of a robbery, and it left her shaken.

"When I went to leave the store I was scared because they know my face," she said. "I covered my head and I masked my face because I'm scared."

Robberies not common, say employees

The teens' spree continued on to a southeast Costco, a southwest Best Buy, Market Mall in northwest Calgary and two separate Walmart locations.

Four of the seven arrested, who are between the ages of 13 and 17, are facing charges.

Charges are pending against two others while another youth was released.

Marlborough Mall shops said shoplifting is a common occurrence at the retail centre, but robberies are far more rare.

Marlborough Mall is a bit safer than most people seem to assume - Caleigh Cassidy, Sunshine Records employee

"There's been a few robberies, but Marlborough Mall is a bit safer than most people seem to assume," said Caleigh Cassidy, who works at Sunshine Records.

Cassidy said she doesn't generally feel nervous while working in the retail outlet. She said staffers at her store are trained well on how to react.

Najeeb Shoukat, the owner of Sparkle Jewelery in the mall, said his employees' safety is more important than the product, so they do their best to keep these types of incidents from happening.

"We try to lock as much as possible, don't show big pieces, we don't put big pieces outside, everything is in," he said. "We try to be safer on our end so we don't run into something like that."

With files from Elizabeth Withey.