LYNN — Lynn Police are investigating whether there’s a connection between a recent string of robberies committed by a group of masked men wielding guns.
Convenience stores have been robbed by groups with the same M.O., and there have been victims at playgrounds and on city streets.
Shortly before 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Lynn Police responded to Lincoln Market at 200 Essex St. following a report of an armed robbery.
Police learned the 41-year-old male clerk was about to close the store when three masked men wearing hooded sweatshirts came in and robbed him at gunpoint. One of the men brandished a gun and ordered the clerk to open the register, Lynn Police Lt. Michael Kmiec said.
The men took an unspecified amount of cash and fled the store, Kmiec said.
On Wednesday night, a 20-year-old man was leaving a house on Commercial Street when he was approached by three masked men and robbed of some jewelry and expensive sneakers. At least two guns were shown during the robbery, Kmiec said.
Kmiec said it appears as if the victim was targeted, as it seems like the suspects knew what they were looking for.
No arrests have been made in either case and police are investigating whether the two incidents are related to recent robberies.
“(We’re) not sure if there’s a connection,” Kmiec said. “There were a couple of other ones near playgrounds and (the detectives are) trying to investigate whether there’s a relationship between those and these recent ones.”
There have been no arrests for other robberies this month involving a group of masked men with guns.
On Dec. 2, Jenny’s Convenience Store on Henry Avenue was robbed by three masked men wielding a knife and gun.
A week later, on Dec. 10, a 15-year-old boy was robbed by two masked men at gunpoint near Kiley Playground on Burrill Avenue.
That same night, a 19-year-old man was seriously injured after he was shot in the neck and robbed while sitting in his car with friends on Wilson Street. The victims told police the two gun-wielding men had their faces covered by hoods.
On Dec. 19, three teenagers were robbed at gunpoint while sitting in a car near Lynn English High School. Two women and a man were ambushed by three masked men and robbed — one of the suspects pointed a gun and said, “Give me everything.”
