FORT MILL — A clerk at a payday lending business was shot and killed Wednesday evening during an apparent robbery, authorities said. The man’s identity was not available late Wednesday, pending notification of family members.

He was shot just before 6:30 p.m. at Anyday Payday Loans at the intersection of Hwy. 21 and Hwy. 51 in the Carowinds area, said York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant.

Bryant said three masked men came into the store, tried to rob it and shot the clerk. He was taken to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, where he died.

A customer was inside during the shooting but was not hurt, Bryant said.

Authorities have not determined how much, if any, cash was taken from the payday advance business. The men fled the business in a 2000 silver-colored Plymouth Voyager, Bryant said.

“We recovered the vehicle a short distance away off of Hwy. 51 at Allied Waste,” Bryant said.

Police did not recover the weapon used in the shooting, Bryant said. He declined to say what type of firearm was used or if any casings were recovered at the scene, citing the ongoing investigation.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the York County Sheriff’s Office at 628-3059 or CrimeStoppers of York County at 1-877-409-4321.

Toya Graham • 329-4062