An employee, Matthew Hirsch, 40, was shot and killed at a Brea store and Matthew Rule, 24, was shot and killed in a Santa Ana store parking lot during a 5-hour standoff Monday morning.
Police in Ontario, Upland, Riverside and La Habra said they believe the 7-Eleven robberies there are also connected.
A customer was shot in the head and critically injured at a Riverside store, and two people, one of whom was an employee, were shot in La Habra but were expected to survive.
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.
“He has to keep fighting. Jason is a fighter and so we fully expect him to fight to the best of his ability and win this fight,” said Makin.
Both La Habra victims were released from the hospital Wednesday, KNBC-TV reported.
One victim, Russell Browning, 60, lost several of his teeth when the gunman shot him in the mouth as he sat in his car, the station reported. The bullet exited his cheek.
Browning had gotten milk and donuts from the store and was on his way to work as a truck driver, his family said.
“The wrong place at the wrong time. That’s all it can go down,” Browning told KNBC-TV as he sat in a wheelchair.
Authorities shared images of a masked man wearing the same black hoodie with a hood over his head. The sweatshirt had white lettering with green leaves on the front.
“We are currently working with local police to spread the word to the community” about the reward, 7-Eleven officials said in a statement. He said tipsters can contact Orange County Crime Stoppers anonymously at 855-TIP-OCCS.
All of the attacks took place on July 11 — or 7/11, the day the company celebrates its anniversary.
However, investigators have not said whether the date may have played a role in the attacks.
