It was a morning of fear for store clerks on the South Shore of Massachusetts as police report two 7-Eleven stores became scenes of gunpoint robberies. Three men are the prime suspects in the back-to-back heists in Norwell and Quincy. According to Norwell police, the first incident took place at approximately 4:18 am when the masked suspects entered the 7-Eleven on Washington Street. As reported by NBC Boston, a traumatized store clerk, Mohammed, said that he had guns pointed at his head and was threatened with shooting if he followed the perpetrators. The assailants, speaking Spanish, were seen fleeing in a black sedan in Hingham's direction.
Shortly after the Norwell robbery, a similar armed robbery occurred in Quincy. The Quincy Police shared that, approximately 20 minutes later, three armed men fitting the same description targeted a 7-Eleven on Franklin Street. Police are scrutinizing a potentially linked scene where a blue Hyundai, stolen in proximity to one of the crime scenes, crashed after fleeing from an officer. WCVB talked to the owner of a stolen vehicle who was informed by police that the suspects were probably involved in the 7-Eleven incidents. Both police departments from Norwell and Quincy are collaborating to determine if the incidents are related.
Descriptors of the suspects are consistent between both incidents: approximately 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, Hispanic men, possibly Brazilian, with at least two speaking Spanish during the Norwell incident. In a chilling recount, one clerk told NBC Boston, "They took the money and they said: 'If you follow us, we're going to shoot you.' So I had to wait until they got out." Community members like Anthony Murray called Mohammed, the Norwell store clerk, a 'great guy' who now faces the unnerving decision to return to work.
Reflecting the community's rising concerns, another store clerk, Jay Patel, who is overseeing the Norwell 7-Eleven in the owner's absence, told Boston 25 News how unsettling these violent crimes are for those creating a living through nocturnal service. Norwell police Chief Edward Lee underscored the investigative efforts, stating that movements of the suspect's vehicle were being traced through local businesses. Authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward and contact either the Norwell or Quincy Police Departments, as these brazen crimes deeply shake the local business community and its nighttime workers.
