LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 7-Eleven convenience store chain offered a $100,000 reward Wednesday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a masked gunman suspected of robbing six Southern California stores, killing two people and injuring three others.
The salesman, Matthew Hirsch, 40, was shot and killed at a Brea store, and Matthew Ruhl, 24, was shot in the parking lot of a Santa Ana store during a five-hour series of arrests Monday morning.
Police in Ontario, Upland, Riverside and La Habra said they believe the 7-Eleven robberies there are also connected.
A customer was shot in the head and critically wounded at a Riverside store, and two people, including a salesperson, were shot in La Habra but were expected to survive.
The Riverside shooting victim was identified by his family as Jason Harrell, 46. He was breathing on his own and no longer in a coma, his brother David Makin told KNBC-TV.
“He has to keep fighting. Jason is a fighter, and so we fully expect him to fight through this whole thing and win this fight,” Mackin said.
Both La Habra victims were released from the hospital Wednesday, KNBC-TV reported.
One victim, Russell Browning, 60, lost many of his teeth when the gunman shot him in the mouth as he sat in his car, the station reported. The bullet exited through his cheek.
Browning had gotten milk and donuts from the store and was on his way to his job as a truck driver, his family said.
“The wrong place at the wrong time. That’s all that can be described,” Browning told KNBC-TV while sitting in a wheelchair.
Authorities shared images of a masked man wearing what appeared to be the same black sweatshirt with a hood over his head. The sweatshirt had white lettering with green leaves on the front.
“We are currently working with local police to spread the word to the community” about the reward, 7-Eleven officials said in a statement. It says tipsters can anonymously contact Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS.
All of the attacks took place on July 11 – or 7/11, the day the company celebrates its anniversary.
However, investigators are not saying whether the date may have played a significant role in the attacks.
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