Surveillance video shows two masked men forcing a convenience store employee back into a Philadelphia convenience store then clearing the register. And, investigators said it wasn't the only time that morning the men struck.
The suspects, each wearing ski masks, entered the 7-Eleven store at 22nd and Lombard streets – near Fitler Square – around 4:30 a.m. on April 3.
The 46-year-old worker was carrying a box from the back of the store when the masked men entered the store – one of the men briefly revealing his face. A medium-built man in his 20s – wearing a navy blue zip-up hoodie with shoulder straps and a blue cap with a unique white emblem on it – blocked the employee’s path, said Philadelphia Police.
The other suspect – a thinner man in his 20s, wearing a maroon hoodie with “Nike” written on it and what appeared to be paint or spackle stains – then took a gun from the pocket of his hoodie and demanded money from the clerk, said police.
As the employee went behind the counter, a customer could be seen entering the store – seemingly unaware of the robbery in progress. In the video, the man in all blue seems to briefly go toward the customer but then turns back to guard the door as the worker puts the cash drawer on the counter.
The man in red then grabbed the cash and the two men fled the store.
About 45 minutes before the 7-Eleven heist, police said the same men held up the Citgo gas station at E Susquehanna and E Girard avenues in the city's Fishtown neighborhood. In that robbery, the man in the Nike sweatshirt showed his gun and took cash from the register while his accomplice swiped a pack of cigarettes from behind the counter, said investigators.
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If you recognize the suspects or have information about the heists, contact Philadelphia Police South Detectives at 215-686-3013/14 and ask for Detective Duffy. If you see the men, call 911 immediately, said police.
