Baltimore police effectively disrupted the latest robbery of a 7-Eleven that has been regularly targeted by bandits, but they were unsuccessful in capturing the suspects who remain at large.
The two gunmen were detected by workers monitoring CitiWatch cameras as they entered the North Charles Street location at around 1:10 a.m. on Tuesday, January 16. Within minutes of them alerting authorities police from the central district arrived with their guns drawn.
Upon noticing that they were being pursued, the suspects scrambled to the rear door, only to return and exchange gunfire with the three officers surrounding the store's entrance. At one point during the shootout, the lead officer swung the front door open and traded shots with a suspect gripping a TEC-9 pistol with an extended magazine at close range.
To the officers' misfortune, the assailants were able to escape the scene by fleeing in different directions. While one man got away down Saratoga Street, the other kept officers at bay and vanished down North Charles.
None of the officers or store clerks on duty sustained injuries during the incident, and it is not known whether or not any of the gunmen were hit. Tuesday's robbery attempt came only four days after the same 7-Eleven location was held up. The store was robbed on at least three separate occasions in 2017, according to reports.
