Two people were killed and three were injured in the firing at four o’clock. 7 Eleven location in the south california Monday morning, officials said. At least three of the four shootings are believed to be linked to the same gunman.
The shootings appear to have happened on July 11, or 7/11, after a pre-dawn robbery or robbery attempt at four convenience stores – a day when the national 7-Eleven brand is celebrating its 95th birthday by offering free Slurpee drinks. Is.
7-Eleven, Inc. “Our hearts are with the victims and their loved ones,” it said in a statement. “We are gathering information on this terrible tragedy and working with local law enforcement.”
It was not immediately clear to investigators why the shootings took place in the cities of Riverside, Santa Ana, Brea and La Habra, or why the violence broke out on July 11.
“I think the only person to answer would be the suspect,” said Officer Ryan Relsbach, a spokesman for the Riverside Police Department, where the first shooting took place at around 1:50. “There’s no way this could have been a coincidence. 7-Eleven, July 11.”
The Riverside shooting – where the victim was in critical condition – has not yet been officially linked to the others, Railsback said, “though they all seem very similar.”
The cases appeared strange, Railsback said, because criminals generally know that robberies at convenience stores rarely yield large amounts of money, especially during overnight hours.
“If you go to a liquor store or 7-Eleven or a fast food place, you’re not going to get a lot of cash from it,” he said. “It’s strange that they would do that.”
In the Riverside case, the gunman robbed the clerk and waved a gun, then turned the weapon at a customer, opened fire, and fled, Relsbach said. Police believe that the clerk handed over the cash from the register.
“There appears to be no reason why the suspect shot the customer,” Relsbach said. “It seems that the clerk gave him what he asked for.”
Officials said the second firing took place at about 3:20 a.m. in Santa Ana, about 39 kilometers away.
Officers responded to reports of gunfire at 7-Eleven in that city and found a man in the parking lot dead with a bullet in his upper torso, according to Sgt. Santa Ana Police Spokesperson Maria Lopez. Attempts to loot also appear to be involved in the violence.
“At this time, we don’t believe he was an employee. We don’t really know yet what he was doing in the parking lot, if he was a potential customer or was just walking in,” Lopez said.
Lopez said detectives believe the suspect in the Santa Ana murder is the same person who traveled 12 miles (19.31 kilometers) to where a 7-Eleven employee was shot at around 4:18 a.m. was found dead from the wound.
Brea Police Captain Phil Rodriguez said officers responded to reports of a man suffering a gunshot wound and found the employee injured. He was later declared dead.
“It appears to be a robbery that turned into a murder,” Rodriguez said.
Less than an hour later, officers in neighboring La Habra were dispatched to 7-Eleven for an alleged robbery. According to the sergeant, they discovered the two gunmen at around 4:55 a.m. Sumner Bohe. The gunman had fled.
“We believe it is the same suspect,” Rodriguez said.
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