BREA, Calif. – Police are continuing a manhunt Wednesday for the assailant suspected of carrying out a series of robberies and shootings at 7-Eleven stores that occurred in three Southland counties, leaving at least two people dead.
The company “is offering a $100,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect,” according to a 7-Eleven statement. “Tipsters may remain anonymous by contacting Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS.”
The rash of violence — carried out on July 11, or 7-11 — prompted the 7-Eleven corporation to recommend that Los Angeles-area stores temporarily close their doors Monday night, a warning that was repeated for Tuesday night.
“Our hearts remain with the victims and their loved ones, and our focus continues to be on franchisee, associate and customer safety,” according to a company statement Tuesday. “With that in mind, we have encouraged stores in the Los Angeles area to close again tonight.”
Brea police said they responded at 4:17 a.m. Monday to the 7-Eleven store at Lambert Road and North Brea Boulevard and found a male store clerk fatally shot in what officers determined to be a robbery.
The clerk was later identified as 40-year-old Matthew Hirsch, who died at the scene, police said.
According to Brea police, that shooting is believed to be related to another shooting that occurred a short time later in La Habra.
According to La Habra police Sgt. Eric Roy, officers responded at 4:55 a.m. Monday to a robbery at the 7-Eleven store at 381 E. Whittier Blvd. When officers arrived, they found two gunshot victims who were taken to a hospital by Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics, he said.
Both of the victims in the La Habra shooting were expected to survive, Roy said. Police said the victims were a clerk and a customer.
At a late-morning news conference Monday, Brea Police Department Capt. Phil Rodriguez said, “Based on some preliminary evidence we do believe it is possibly the same suspect.”
Rodriguez said investigators were looking into possible connections to 7-Eleven shootings Monday morning in Santa Ana and Riverside.
“We are aware of other incidents that have occurred in the southland at 7-Elevens,” Rodriguez said. “We obviously at this point can’t confirm whether they are connected, but we assure you our detectives are looking into that.”
Santa Ana police said 24-year-old Matthew Rule of Santa Ana was fatally shot at 3:25 a.m. Monday outside the 7-Eleven store in the 300 block of East 17th Street. Police found Rule in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the upper body, Santa Ana Police Department Sgt. Maria Lopez said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect apparently never entered the store in Santa Ana and it appears he robbed Rule, Lopez said. It wasn’t clear if Rule was a customer of the store or why he was there, Lopez said.
Based on surveillance photos of the suspect in the Brea and La Habra shootings, Santa Ana police said they believe it was the same suspect in Santa Ana, Lopez said.
Meanwhile, Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback said investigators have confirmed that the same suspect appears to have been involved in a 7- Eleven robbery and shooting in that city early Monday morning that left the victim in grave condition.
“We will not be releasing any suspect images in our investigation but our detectives are working closely with the other law enforcement agencies investigating these crimes,” Railsback said in a statement.
The Riverside shooting occurred about 1:50 a.m. Monday in what police described as an apparent robbery at the 7-Eleven store at 5102 La Sierra Ave.
“The suspect entered the store, brandished a firearm and robbed the clerk, then shot a customer before fleeing the store on foot,” Railsback said.
The first 7-Eleven holdup in the crime spree may have occurred in Ontario. Police said just after midnight Monday, the 7-Eleven at 636 N. Vine Ave. was robbed. The suspect held up the store with a handgun, but no shots were fired and no one was injured, police said.
A short time later in Upland, the 7-Eleven store at 2410 W. Arrow Route was robbed at 12:40 a.m. Monday, police said. Investigators in Upland were huddling with other agencies to see if there was a connection.
The Los Angeles Police Department announced Tuesday afternoon that detectives are investigating a similar string of robberies at two convenience stores and two doughnut shops within the LAPD’s Devonshire Division in the San Fernando Valley that occurred between 3:55 and 5:30 a.m. Saturday. The four businesses that were robbed were located in the 16000 block of Parthenia Street, the 16000 block of Nordhoff Street, the 16000 block of Devonshire Street and the 16000 block of San Fernando Mission Boulevard.
The suspect in those four robberies was described as a man between 25 and 30 years old, 5 feet, 7 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs 160 to 180 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, a black face covering and dark jeans, and was armed with a black semi-automatic handgun
No injuries were reported in the robberies, and LAPD detectives were working with other agencies to determine if the suspect in the four robberies is the same suspect responsible for the robberies and shootings at the 7-Eleven stores.
The 7-Eleven company issued an initial statement Monday, saying, “Our hearts are with the victims and their loved ones. We are gathering information on this terrible tragedy and working with local law enforcement.”
The Brea location where Hirsch was fatally shot was one of several stores that opted to close Monday evening and early Tuesday morning. Yellow police tape was strung along the parking lot in the early morning hours and a makeshift memorial next to the parking was created for Hirsch.
Anyone with information was asked to call Brea Police Department Detective Alfred Rodriguez at 714-671-4438 or alfredr@cityofbrea.net.
