‘No predicting where it might happen next’: SAPD investigating string of convenience store robberies

Police believe robberies of up to 7 stores may be connected

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio police are investigating a string of armed robberies that occurred at multiple convenience stores, including the pistol-whipping of a store clerk and gunfire directed to a newspaper delivery man.

Chief William McManus said a robbery at 8:20 a.m. at the Pump N Shop in the 2300 block of NE Loop 410 was the latest in what he is calling a “spree.”

He said a man wearing a mask and a light blue hoodie with “pink” written on it went into the store, held up the cashier with a semi-automatic pistol, and left with cash and a cash drawer.

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He fled with another male in a stolen, dark-colored Toyota Scion, McManus said. That car was stolen at gunpoint around 5:30 a.m. in the 3500 block of West Avenue.

“No predicting where it might happen next,” he said. “They seem to be on a spree right now.”

No injuries have been reported, he said, but police are “trying to catch up to these individuals before someone gets hurt.”

According to police, officers first received a call for a robbery around 9:30 p.m. at the Pronto Food Mart in the 17200 block of O’Connor Road.

A male suspect robbed the cashier while brandishing a firearm, police said, and fled with an unknown amount of money.

Another robbery call came in around midnight at a Circle K in the 5200 block of Blanco Road.

Police said two men -- one wearing a red mask and blue hoodie and another wearing all black -- entered the store and robbed the clerk at gunpoint, just before fleeing on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Authorities said around 12:30 a.m. two men with the same description robbed a 7-Eleven store near Highway 281 and Nakoma, and then robbed a Valero in the 3400 block of Fredericksburg Road in Balcones Heights around 1:30 a.m.

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Around 2 a.m. another robbery occurred at a 7-Eleven in the 1200 block of NE Loop 410. In that instance, the men only managed to take the clerk’s wallet and keys, police said.

Police have also tied the men to the robbery of a Circle K in the 1800 block of South General McMullen. Authorities said a clerk was pistol-whipped during the robbery, and that a newspaper delivery man was shot at, but not hit.

The suspects are connected to two additional robberies from overnight. San Antonio police said those robberies took place at a store in the 3900 block of Fredericksburg Road and at a store in the 4800 block of Walzem Road.

So far, no arrests have been made in the case.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the robbery unit at 210-207-0300.

McManus advises people who are witnessing the robbery to adhere to commands to prevent a shooting.


About the Authors:

Ben Spicer is a digital journalist who works the early morning shift for KSAT.

Rebecca Salinas is an award-winning digital journalist who joined KSAT in 2019. She reports on a variety of topics for KSAT 12 News.