KTLA

String of armed robberies under investigation in Southeast L.A. County

Authorities are investigating a string of armed robberies reported Monday night in Southeast Los Angeles County.

The robberies involved convenience stores in Lakewood, Paramount and Bellflower — all locations within about 4 miles of each other.

The first robbery happened around 9:11 p.m. in the 5800 block of Bellflower Boulevard in Lakewood, where three men entered a store and demanded money at gunpoint, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

They later left the store, with no injuries reported.

Then around 11:40 p.m., another armed robbery was reported in the 8500 block of Alondra Boulevard in Paramount.

Three men, believed to be in their 20s, wearing black hoodies and black masks, demanded money at gun point, the Sheriff’s Department said.

A short time later, at 11:55 p.m, a third convenience store reported a robbery in the 17200 block of Downey Avenue in Bellflower.

Three men dressed in all black, this time described as being in their 30s, entered the store and took money from a cash register while armed with a gun, officials said.

Video surveillance footage obtained from the last store, a Circle K, showed the two of the men pointing guns at a store clerk.

The men were last seen driving away from the Bellflower scene in an older white four-door Mercedes.

The robberies remain under investigation and it remains unclear if they are all connected.