Deputies in Antelope Valley are searching for a crew of armed robbers who shot a store clerk during a series of robberies late Wednesday and early Thursday morning.
The first robbery happened around 4 p.m. at a liquor store at 3rd Street and Avenue I where the thieves stole cash and got away in a stolen Hyundai, authorities said.
The same car was used in a second robbery at Super Store on Beech Avenue where four people threatened the clerk with a gun. The clerk fought back and was shot before the robbers got away with cash, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The clerk was hospitalized in stable condition.
Around 10 p.m., robbers stole three cash registers from a Pizza Hut on 20th West and Avenue K. Then at 1:30 a.m. Thursday, eight armed robbers entered an AMPM store in Palmdale where they stole cash registers and cigarettes, deputies said.
Investigators have connected the same crew to the first two robberies and believe there is a strong likelihood they were responsible for all four.
“They appear to be working together in an organized fashion … coordinating with each other, talking over cell phones [and] over social media to coordinate these robberies,” Det. Benjamin Casebolt from the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station told KTLA.
Two weeks ago, a gas station clerk was shot in the face during a robbery involving four suspects in Lancaster.