A total of four separate shooting incidents took place at 7-Eleven stores on the 11th of July across southern California, and at least three of the incidents seem to be connected to each other, reported local police officials.
The first of these shootings took place at the convenience store out on La Sierra Avenue at roughly 1:50 am, at which the officers of the Riverside Police Department discovered that one customer had suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, as reported by CBS News. The clerk for the store who phoned the police remained unharmed, and the suspect reportedly took several items in their escape.
The second of these shootings took place at 3:25 am on North Spurgeon Street, at which “a lone male victim was discovered lying in the parking lot with a fatal gunshot wound to his upper torso,” reported officials with the Santa Ana Police Department.
The third incident took place on West Lambert Road at 4:19 am, where the store clerk was killed as part of what seemed to be a robbery. “We want to send our deepest condolences to the family of the victim who lost their life during today’s tragic incidents,” expressed the Brea Police Department.
The last shooting took place just before 5 am in La Habra on East Whittier Boulevard, at which one employee for 7-Eleven and another customer were found in stable condition after being inflicted with gunshot wounds.
As reported by CBS, law enforcement officials out of Brea, Santa Ana, and La Habra think that the incidents are connected to each other. The incidents took place early Monday, July 11th, when 7-Eleven holds an event at which customers get free Slurpees.
“Our hearts are with the victims and their loved ones,” the company stated in a release. “We are gathering information on this terrible tragedy and working with local law enforcement.”
These shootings take place as a massive surge in crime sweeps across the state. Both violent crimes and property crimes have been on the ride throughout Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, and San Francisco, as reported by the Public Policy Institute of California, while the number of homicides spiked by almost 17% across those four cities.
Over the past few months, flash mob robberies have ended up making many companies close down locations throughout these towns. As found in a recent survey carried out by the National Retail Federation last year, San Francisco was labeled as the fifth most affected city by “organized retail crime.”
“Organized retail crime continues to be a challenge facing retailers across San Francisco, and we are not immune to that,” explained Phil Caruso, a spokesman for Walgreens, last year. “Retail theft across our San Francisco stores has continued to increase in the past few months to five times our chain average. During this time to help combat this issue, we increased our investments in security measures in stores across the city to 46 times our chain average in an effort to provide a safe environment.”