Salem Police Seek Public Help in Series of Armed Robberies

Police say the man has already fired a gun at one employee.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - Salem Police Department are seeking assistance from the public in identifying possible suspects in three robberies of Hispanic-owned businesses that have occurred within the past month in Salem.

Salem Police Lt. Dave Okada says that last night around 9:00 PM, a lone suspect approached a female employee at the El Palmar Store, located at 1733 Lansing St NE.

"The suspect, described as a light skinned Hispanic male, 20-25 years old, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a bandana over his face, was armed with a handgun and demanded cash and cigarettes," Okada said.

He reportedly escaped with the cigarettes and an undisclosed amount of cash and was last seen headed south towards Market Street.

This robbery is similar in nature to robberies that occurred on May 15th at the El Torito Market at 2158 Lancaster Dr NE and May 14th at Daisy's Mexican Bakery at 1648 Clay St NE according to Okada.

"In all three cases, the suspect description is similar, the suspect approached a lone employee working at the business and all three businesses are Hispanic-owned. In one of the robberies, the suspect fired a shot at one of the employees."

Okada says Salem Police Department are seeking assistance from the public in identifying this suspect.

Anybody with information about any of these incidents is asked to call Salem Police Detective Dan Tallan at 503-588-6050, extension 7132, or the Salem Police Tips Line at 503-588-8477. For those calling the Tips line, we ask that you leave your contact information as well in case investigators have further questions.