Two people have been killed and three others were wounded as violence appears to be specifically targeting one popular convenience store chain. If you’re jonesing for a late-night Slurpee, you’re out of luck in the Los Angeles area because 7-Eleven “recommended that its Los Angeles-area stores close for a second night Tuesday.” Police are investigating “a string of robberies.”
Violence targets LA 7-Elevens
The 7-Eleven corporation issued a statement recommending all of their Los Angeles-area stores shut down overnight on Tuesday, July 12, because of the violence focused on them in particular. They all closed Monday night while police tried to connect the dots on six robberies in a row that day, all involving the same convenience store chain.
“Our hearts remain with the victims and their loved ones, and our focus continues to be on Franchisee, associate and customer safety,” a 7-Eleven corporate spokesperson informed CNN. “With that in mind, we have encouraged stores in the Los Angeles area to close again tonight.”
The rash of robberies started breaking out across California early Monday morning when stores were hit by violence in Santa Ana, La Habra, Brea, Riverside, Upland and Ontario.
The police in Brea and La Habra are “confident” the shootings in their jurisdictions are connected. They’re working with all the other area departments to tie in the other crimes.
One store employee was shot and killed in the violence which rocked the Brea franchise. The other fatality is listed as a customer at the Santa Ana store. Police say that they examined video evidence and passed around a photo they captured. “Based on the photo released we believe it is the same suspect” in both killings. Two other people were shot during the robbery at the location in La Habra and taken to the hospital.
Another customer was shot “after a gunman entered the store in Riverside.” The perp “brandished a firearm and robbed the clerk,” police relate. That person “was taken to a local hospital,” listed in “grave condition.” During the Upland robbery, no shots were fired. Likewise, “in Ontario, California, the gunman demanded money while showing a gun and didn’t fire his gun.” He probably used all his bullets up earlier.
Starbucks closing stores for good
The violence may have forced 7-Eleven to close their doors in Los Angeles at night but Starbucks is going even further. Lawlessness and anarchy are forcing them to close locations permanently.
The nation’s largest chain of coffee shops want’s to provide a place “between work and home where the Wi-Fi is great and you can have a conversation with your friends or neighbors over a latte.” That’s not easy when people are shooting at you.
In the Democrat run cities that defunded their police and decriminalized crime have crumbled into lawlessness and anarchy. Because of gratuitous violence, “safety of staff and guests seems to be a growing issue.”
That’s why on July 11, Starbucks announced “it is permanently closing the doors of 16 urban locations where crime has gotten out of control. Six of those locations are in its hometown of Seattle.”
Los Angeles is another city on the list. They want to close down before they get hit with a string of violence and robberies like the 7-Eleven did. Six LA Starbucks are being boarded up.
Two in Portland, Oregon are going away along with one in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One in Washington D.C. rounds out the list. By the end of the month the spaces will be empty.
Violence is only one of the reasons for the drastic measures. According to a Starbucks spokesperson, “incidents of drug use, theft, and assault were rampant in these cafes.”
The decision to close them was “based on the volume of crime-related complaints being logged by employees and the chain’s unsuccessful attempts to lower those rates with various measures.” Until police can assure law and order, residents in high crime areas will have to get their caffeine fix elsewhere.
