SHORELINE, Wash. — Five people have been detained in connection to a string of armed robberies at stores in Des Moines, Renton and Bellevue early Wednesday morning.
The suspects targeted Des Moines first, then Renton, police said, before finishing the spree in Bellevue just after 3 a.m.
The robbery at a 7-Eleven in Des Moines occurred around 2 a.m. The suspects targeted a Chevron in Renton about 30 minutes later, police said.
"They're like 'Ma'am we are not going to hurt you unless you do something funny'. My heart rate was up. I tried to stay calm. I just let them take whatever they wanted to,” said Brooke, a clerk at the Renton convenience store. "Afterwards I kind of broke down. I had a panic attack."
Brooke said her mom worries about her working there at night.
"She says it is dangerous. All these robberies are going on, they need to be stopped,” Brooke said.
The Bothell Police Department said the armed suspects entered a 7-Eleven along Bellevue Way SE before officers started chasing the group. The suspects fired shots, but it is unclear if they had aimed at officers, according to police.
The Bothell Police Department chased the suspects to Shoreline, where officers later found a 17-year-old male and female suspect. Three more people were detained by the King County Sheriff's Office, but their involvement in the robberies is unknown.
There have been 12 different stores targeted in armed robberies across the Puget Sound area in the last week, but it's unclear if they are all connected. Six different convenience stores were robbed between the hours of 1-4 a.m. on April 21.
Two days prior, suspects targeted stores in Renton and Auburn. Police are investigating whether an overnight string of three armed robberies on April 19 at western Washington 7-Eleven locations were related.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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