Trio sought in Lynn armed assault

LYNN – Lynn Police sought the public’s help Wednesday in finding three men who pistol-whipped a Lynn convenience store clerk in an attempted armed robbery last week.Just before 8:20 p.m. Friday, Lynn Police said, three men walked into the D&M Convenience Mart at 126 Broad St. One pointed a gun at the clerk as another ran behind the counter and started attacking the clerk, according to surveillance footage from the store that police released.The third man, dressed in a hat and sunglasses and black coat, acted as a lookout, said Lynn Police Lt. Christopher Kelly in a statement Wednesday.Lt. Dave Brown said one of the suspects appears to be a black male and two appeared to be white or light-skinned Hispanic males.Surveillance footage shows two masked men, one wearing a red jacket and a black hoodie, and another in a black jacket and black hoodie, attacking the store clerk.In the footage, one man holds the store clerk down and punches him as another whips his face with the butt of his handgun. During the assault, the store clerk is able to rip off the mask of one of his attackers, which is clearly visible to the cameras.After about a minute of fighting, a customer walked into the store and the men fled without receiving any money, according to the store’s owner, who only gave the name of Duke because he said he feared for his safety.Duke said Wednesday that his employee has stitches on his forehead and on the side of his head as a result of the attack. He said he advises his employees to hand over the money if they are held up but said Friday’s incident took a more violent turn because of the sudden nature of the attack.”This guy came around the corner so fast and started attacking the clerk that he didn’t have time to react, and naturally started defending himself,” Duke said.He said this is the first violent robbery in his store’s 13-year history.Duke added he hopes police catch the men and said he doesn’t understand why robberies like these occur.”I don’t know why they do that because in the end it’s not worth it. They only get, like, $100,” he said.But Duke said the attack won’t sway him from keeping his store open. Unfortunately, crime is part of the business, he said.”It’s a convenience store. You’re always a target for people trying to rob you,” he said.How to Help Lynn Police are asking anyone who saw last Friday’s attempted armed robbery at D&M Convenience Mart, 126 Broad St. or hasinformation about it to call 781-595-2000. Anyone with a cell phone can send an anonymous tip to the Lynn Police Department by texting the word tiplynn and the tip information to tip411 or 847411. Anonymous web tips can also be submitted from the police department’s Web site at www.lynnpolice.org and clicking the “submit tip” icon.
View surveillance footage of the alleged assaultAmber Parcher can be reached at [email protected].