2 Men Shot During Pair of Robberies

A pair of armed robberies Friday, in Santa Ana and Anaheim, left two people injured with gunshot wounds in their legs.

In the Santa Ana incident, which happened at 2:20 p.m., a man was robbed and shot in front of his friend’s 6-year-old and 9-year-old daughters, Santa Ana Police Sgt. Raul Luna said. The 41-year-old victim had just left a check-cashing business at 218 N. Grand Ave. and was climbing into his truck when two men, one wielding a gun, confronted him, Luna said.

He handed over his money but was shot in the leg anyway, investigators said. The man may have been targeted by someone who knew that he often withdraws large sums of cash to pay his employees. He was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where he was reported in stable condition with a wound to the lower portion of his right leg.

The assailants sped away in a beige Nissan, police said. A witness was able to give a partial license-plate number. At 3:35 p.m., officers spotted a car matching the description and arrested the driver on suspicion of armed robbery. They were still seeking the second man.

In Anaheim, a search was underway Friday for two men who robbed a liquor store and shot a clerk in the leg, police said.

The two men entered Seven Star Liquor, 1845 W. Katella Ave., about 12:20 a.m., drew small handguns and demanded money from two clerks, Anaheim Police Sgt. Jamie Wilkes said.

The clerks were ordered to the ground, Wilkes said, while one man took money from the cash register. When one of the clerks began arguing with the other man and tried to hit him, investigators said, the man fired at the clerk, hitting him in the lower leg. The two then fled.

The clerk was treated at UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was listed in stable condition Friday, Wilkes said.

Santa Ana Sgt. Luna said investigators do not know if the two armed robberies might be related but said, “We certainly will be talking to the Anaheim Police Department.”

Times wire services contributed to this report.