7-eleven Franchise has recorded five crime scenes in the past few hours.
At least three of the killings appeared to be the work of the same gunman, according to the police, who said that five people—two fatally wounded—were shot at four different 7-eleven establishments in Southern California early on Monday.
About $500 in cash was stolen from a fifth store nearby.
The date of the gunshots and robbery, July 11, or 7-11, has law enforcement officials wondering what significance it might have. In honour of its 95th birthday on Monday, 7-Eleven offered free Slurpee drinks to customers.
By late Monday afternoon, the hunt for the shooter was still ongoing.
The crimes took place in Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, south and east of Los Angeles, for around four hours and a distance of about 40 miles.
According to Sgt. Jacob Kirk of the Upland Police Department, a man entered a 7-Eleven in Upland at around 12:40 a.m. and demanded money from the clerk while pointing a gun at him. According to him, the shooter took roughly $500.
He continued by saying that it was “possible” that the man who had committed crimes at other 7-Elevens that day was the same. Sergeant Kirk stated, “We’re collaborating with a few other organizations to attempt to figure it out.
At around 1:50 a.m., Riverside saw its first gunfire. According to Officer Railsback, the police discovered a man in his 40s who was bleeding from a gunshot wound inside a 7-Eleven.
He claimed that the shooter had shot a customer while robbing the business at gunpoint and that detectives were still trying to identify him.
According to Officer Railsback, the man was rushed to a hospital, where as of Monday afternoon, he was described as being in “grave condition.”
Although the police had not made a connection between the shooting and the others that had occurred at other 7-Eleven locations, he continued, “that doesn’t mean it’s not connected.”
The same shooter, according to the police in Santa Ana, Brea, and La Habra, was responsible for shootings at 7-Elevens in those communities.
As of Monday afternoon, he had not yet been found, but they had released a security video that appeared to show him donning a mask that covered most of his face as well as a recognizable hooded sweatshirt.
The shooter attempted to rob a guy in a 7-Eleven parking lot in Santa Ana, about 40 miles southwest of Riverside, at about 3:23 a.m., according to Sgt. Maria Lopez of the Santa Ana Police Department.
She claimed that the man, who was not a worker at the convenience shop, was fatally shot in his upper torso.
According to Sergeant Lopez, after investigators examined local surveillance footage, they discovered that the shooter had “discarded some items that appeared to be the victim’s.”
The shooter then proceeded 13 miles north to Brea, where Brea’s police department reported at a news conference that the shooter shot and murdered a 7-Eleven employee while attempting to rob the store at around 4 a.m.
Capt. Philip Rodriguez of the Brea Police Department stated that it “does appear to be a robbery that turned into a homicide.”
He claimed that authorities believed that the man who shot two persons in La Habra about 20 minutes later was the same suspect. According to Sgt. Sumner Bohee of the La Habra Police Department, the victims were brought to a hospital.
