Masked gunman,
companions rob
Kaaawa store
It's the 2nd armed robbery of
By Jaymes K. Song
a Windward store this week
Star-BulletinPolice are searching for men who robbed a Kaaawa 7-Eleven store this morning, three days after police issued a warning about masked gunmen targeting Windward Oahu grocery stores.
The 7-Eleven robbed today is the second Windward store this week to be robbed by masked gunmen, and the third in three months.
No arrests have been made, and some grocers are taking extra security measures.
"We're nervous," said Kaneohe Safeway manager Merv Lam, "especially now, because it's the third one -- it's brazen."
Lam's Safeway hired a uniformed security guard this week because of the police warning. All employees have been briefed about the robbers.
This morning, a masked man, armed with a sawed-off shotgun or rifle, entered the 7-Eleven at 2:10 a.m., police said. He ordered two women, a clerk and a customer, to the ground and demanded money.
A second unmasked man walked about the store. A third suspect stood lookout by the doors.
The men then ran away with the store's money and the customer's purse.
On Monday, three gunmen entered through the roof and robbed the Laie Foodland store while a fourth suspect waited in a car.
On March 21, three masked gunmen crashed a stolen car through the front doors and robbed the Temple Valley Times Supermarket.
The robberies have police worried because of the potential for a hostage situation and the high-powered weapons the suspects carry.
Police believe the same suspects are responsible for both the Foodland and Times robberies.
Although the physical descriptions of the 7-Eleven suspects are similar to the supermarket robbers, police aren't sure if they are the same men or copycats.
