Man wanted in shootings and robberies at three 7-Elevens targeted a 4th store, police say
A man linked to two fatal shootings and a string of robberies at Los Angeles-area 7-Elevens on Monday, 7/11, is suspected of targeting a fourth store, authorities said Tuesday.
A police spokeswoman in the city of Ontario confirmed that authorities are searching for the same man who is alleged to have carried out robberies and shootings at stores in the cities of Brea, Santa Ana and La Habra.
Ontario police said the man — who hasn't been identified and is seen in security video wearing a black hoodie and a black mask — entered the Ontario store around midnight.
He displayed a handgun and demanded money from a store clerk, the department said. He didn’t fire his gun, and the worker wasn’t injured.
A police spokesman in Riverside, Ryan Railsback, said authorities were still trying to determine whether the same man is tied to a robbery and shooting at a 7-Eleven in that city that left a man in grave condition.
The victim in the Riverside shooting was identified as Jason Harrel by his daughter, Kaya Harrel, according to NBC Los Angeles.
She said he may have been trying to help a clerk who was being robbed when he was shot, the station reported.
“My dad is a fighter, so if anyone is going to make it through, I have full faith that it would be my dad,” she told the station.
The other robberies and shootings linked to the suspect occurred from 3:20 a.m. to 4:55 a.m.
In Santa Ana, a person was found fatally shot in a 7-Eleven parking lot, while in Brea, a clerk was killed during a robbery. In La Habra, two people were wounded by gunfire after a robbery.
It wasn’t clear whether the man is suspected of targeting a sixth 7-Eleven in the city of Upland. A police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A possible motive in the crimes remained unclear. 7-Eleven urged its stores to in the Los Angeles area to close Monday, with the company saying in a statement that its focus was "on Franchisee, associate and customer safety.”
