SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Last week, three armed robbers broke into Samer Salem's store, leaving his employee traumatized.
"This is something he's going to remember for the rest of his life, very scary," said Samer Salem, whose store was one of 18 robbed just in the month of December.
Fearing a repeat incident, Salem did not disclose the name of his store.
Salem estimated the cost of the robbery at $20,000 in equipment, cash, and operational losses. "In this case, thank God they came in and the damage was monetary but it's not the case all the time," he said.
According to the San Diego Police Department, at least 10 of these armed robberies in San Diego have been committed by the same group.
"The robberies have occurred at convenience stores, typically in the late evening hours. The suspects have been described as young Black and Hispanic males wearing hooded sweatshirts and masks." SDPD said in a press release on Dec. 13.
"They enter the stores in groups ranging from one to four and brandish firearms at the clerk, while demanding money and products," police said.
On Friday, authorities arrested three teenagers in connection with at least six recent robberies. Two 16-year-old boys and a 14-year-old boy were taken into custody.
While officials have not confirmed the specific cases linked to the suspects, a series of four gas station robberies occurred on Dec. 9. An additional 11 gas stations in various parts of San Diego County were hit over a two-hour period, from last Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.
"As we all know, teenagers, their judgment is limited and they could do anything," Salem said. "I'm happy the three were arrested. I'm very sure there's more than these three."
SDPD also recovered an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and two other firearms, one of which was a ghost gun.
Police said one of those teens was also involved in the Chula Vista FedEx truck robbery from Nov. 30.
A neighbor's Ring camera captured a video of four hooded teenagers stealing packages from the truck. They loaded a blue sedan with around 5 to 8 packages and drove off.
Detectives are collaborating with other agencies in La Mesa and North County to solve the remaining cases.
