Police are investigating the possibility that one man robbed three convenience stores at gunpoint Sunday and fired his handgun as he was leaving the Salt Lake and Murray businesses.
Nobody was hurt in any of the robberies.
About 4:45 p.m. a man approached the counter at Corner Market, 203 E. Hampton Ave. (1130 South), with items to purchase. He showed a small-caliber handgun and demanded money from the cash register, Salt Lake Police Lt. Mark Askerlund said.
He grabbed the large bills and fired the gun once into the overhead cigarette rack. The bullet went into the ceiling. He then left, Askerlund said.
A few minutes later, a man entered Sinclair Retail Outlets, 5380 S. 900 East, and selected a few items to purchase. He approached the counter and showed a handgun. He ordered a customer to the floor. When the clerk backed away from the register, he took money, Murray police detective Ken Bass said. As the man left the store, he fired a round into a garbage can, Bass said.
At 9:05 p.m. a man entered a Maverik, 210 W. North Temple, approached the clerk with items and showed a gun. He did not shoot as he was leaving the store with the money.
In the first two incidents, the man left in a pickup truck. In the first Salt Lake robbery, the pickup was teal or turquoise. In the Murray incident, it was tan and had a Utah license plate. No vehicle was seen in the third robbery.
"It appears it's going to be the same guy. But there's a little bit of a question on the vehicle," Bass said.
The man is described as Hispanic or Pacific Islander, 5 feet 8 inches, stocky build, in his 20s with short dark hair.