A half-dozen 7-Elevens and a donut shop were robbed within five hours early Monday in San Bernardino, Orange and Riverside counties, sparking an intensive manhunt that resulted in the arrest of the two men in Los Angeles. One is 20 and the other is 44, both from Los Angeles In addition to announcing that the men are suspects in a July 9 slaying in Los Angeles, police revealed that one of the two people fatally shot Monday was killed after he tried to intervene when one of the suspects tried to rob another person. “It was a reign of terror,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said at a news conference. He said prosecutors expect to file charges of murder, attempted murder and robbery.
“Technology” played a role in the arrests
Authorities also expect at least one of the men to be linked to “certain crimes” in the Los Angeles area after additional investigation. Law enforcement officials offered few details about the case, saying only that “technology” played a role in the arrest and that the suspects had been identified by a task force when they were apprehended with a “light use of force” that sent one of the men to the hospital. No shots were fired. Police also did not say whether they believe the men targeted the 7-Eleven because Monday’s date was July 11 or 7/11. Santa Ana Mayor Vicente Sarmiento said the arrests ended the fear that had settled in his city this week. “7-Eleven is the quintessential convenience store,” he said. “That’s where our community shops.” An employee, Matthew Hirsch, 40, was shot and killed at a Brea store, and Matthew Rule, 24, was shot and killed in the parking lot of a Santa Ana store. Two of the three injured have been discharged from hospitals.
“Fight for Good”
Rule had intervened when the suspect was trying to rob someone else, authorities said, and “tried to redirect the suspect. The suspect turns back and [shoots] our victim, killing him on the spot,” said Santa Ana Police Chief David Valentine. Hirsch’s father, Jim Hirsch, told The Associated Press that his son had sobered up more than a year ago after a long-term drug addiction. He had gotten a steady job working night shifts at the Brea location, lived with his girlfriend in a nearby apartment, and talked to his father every day. “He didn’t get to enjoy a normal life,” his father said. “He goes through a fight for good and ends up getting shot.” Flowers, candles and cards have been left in the parking lot of the store in Brea where employee Matt Hirsch was shot and killed. (Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register) A customer was shot in the head and seriously injured at a Riverside store, and two people, including an employee, were shot in La Habra but were expected to survive. Russell Browning was shot in the face as he sat in his car outside the La Habra store, he told FOX 11. Browning said he saw the suspect and the employee leave the store. “He was taller than my car, so I didn’t get a good look at him. And all of a sudden, he just raised the gun and shot,” she said. The Riverside shooting victim has been identified by his family as 46-year-old Jason Harrell. He was breathing on his own and no longer in a coma, his brother David Makin told KNBC-TV earlier this week. The 7-Eleven convenience store chain on Wednesday offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the masked man. Authorities said it was not immediately clear whether anyone would receive money from the reward fund.
