Police Probe 7-Eleven Robbery After String Of Similar Crimes

PEABODY (CBS) – Police are warning store clerks not to fight back with an armed robber after a string of armed robberies at convenience stores in the area.

The latest armed robbery occurred at a 7-Eleven in Peabody overnight, and police are now looking into whether that crime is connected to other similar crimes.

Police say a masked man armed with a gun robbed the 7-Eleven on Main Street just before 11 p.m. Wednesday.

He got away with an unknown amount of cash.

There have also been a number of robberies in Lynn, including one at the "Shop Quick."

Surveillance video from that robbery shows a man in a striped hooded sweatshirt waving a silver pistol.

As the suspects left the store with cash, the clerk chased the robbers, thinking their weapon is fake.

That's when the suspect fired at the clerk, and missed.

Lynn Police Lt. Michael Kmiec called the incidents "a public safety issue."

"Shots were fired at one of the robberies so we do believe its a public safety issue," he said.

Authorities are also warning store owners to make sure their surveillance cameras are working properly and to report any crime to police immediately.