Vermont law enforcement were at the Stewarts Shop in Pownal after a robbery there on Saturday night.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Multiple police agencies from two states Saturday night were investigating back-to-back armed robberies in Williamstown and Pownal, Vt.

At 8:22 p.m., a masked man entered the Spirit Shop at 280 Cole Ave., brandishing a handgun and demanding the clerk open the cash register, Williamstown Police reported in a news release.

After a brief argument, the armed man fled the store without acquiring any merchandise or money.

About two hours later, a similar incident occurred at the Stewarts Shop convenience store in Pownal, Vt., about a quarter mile north of the state line.

In that case, at about the 10:20 p.m., the suspected entered with a black handgun and demanded money from the store employees. Vermont State Police say he "fled the scene on foot with an undisclosed amount of money."

No store personnel were injured in either incident.

Williamstown Police worked with Massachusetts State Police, North Adams Police and K-9 units from North Adams and Dalton in the Cole Avenue incident. At the Stewarts Shop, Vermont State Police and the Bennington County Sheriff were assisted by police from Williamstown and North Adams.

Police described the suspect as a thin white male, 5-foot-11 to 6-foot, in his mid 30s and wearing a dark gray hooded sweatshirt, black gloves, dark cargo pants and a camouflage hat and with a camouflage mask covering the majority of his face.

Police are asking anyone with information about either incident to call Sgt. Scot McGowan of the Williamstown Police Department at 413-458-5733 or the Vermont State Police barracks in Shaftsbury at 802-442-5421.

Updated with information from Vermont State Police.