SHORELINE, Wash. — Five teens were arrested in Shoreline after a string of overnight armed robberies that led to a police chase.
Bellevue police spokesperson Meeghan Black says one of the robberies happened at 2:53 a.m. Bellevue police officers were dispatched to a robbery at a 7-Eleven store in the 100 block of Bellevue Way.
“Just before three o’clock this morning, we received a call of a robbery at the 7-Eleven on Bellevue Way Southeast. Officers responded, and the suspects had already left the scene. But what we discovered during the investigation is that three suspects, who all were wearing masks, entered the store, and one of them — they were all armed — one of them fired a warning shot and demanded the cash registers. They grab the cash and the register, and they took off and left the area,” said Black.
Shortly after, Bellevue police were called by Bothell police officers, who believed they were following the robbery suspects’ vehicle, a white Jeep Cherokee.
At about 3:15 a.m., a chase began, and shots were fired at Bothell officers. Black says no one was hit by the gunfire.
The chase ended in Shoreline, where the suspects’ abandoned their car near North 180th Street and Sunnyside Avenue North.
Detectives are investigating an armed robbery in the 100 block Bellevue Way SE just before 3:00 am. Three suspects entered the store & one fired a warning shot. They demanded cash & fled the store with an undisclosed amount of money. Luckily, no one was injured. pic.twitter.com/VManZaDnyV
— Bellevue, WA Police (@BvuePD) April 26, 2023
“It’s pretty surprising that it came all the way down here, and it made it to this neighborhood. It’s a very quiet neighborhood. Not a lot happens here,” said Chris Lacambra.
Meghan Jernigan says the car went into her yard, damaged some of her bushes, and said car parts were scattered around.
“We heard sirens, and then hear cops screaming at a suspect to stop … I saw some cops out front with large weapons drawn,” said Jernigan.
Police officers and deputies set up a perimeter in the area. There was a significant police response, and a K-9 unit and a drone were used to search for the suspects.
On Thursday, Bothell police confirmed that five teens — three boys and two girls — between 15 and 17 years old had been taken into custody. Police recovered two guns from the teens’ stolen car.
Black said the suspects in the Bellevue robbery might be connected to a convenience store robbery in Renton earlier the same morning.
Last week, police reported at least five convenience store robberies on Friday, Apr. 19, in Pierce and King Counties. All of them happened in the early morning hours.
It is not yet known if any of these robberies are connected.
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