4 minors arrested after armed robbery at a supermarket in Renton

4 minors arrested after armed robbery at a supermarket in Renton

The two 15-year-olds, a 14-year-old and a 13-year-old are in the King County Juvenile Detention Center.

On July 18, authorities arrested four minors between the ages of 13 and 15 after they robbed a Renton convenience store at gunpoint.

Police took the minors, two 15-year-olds and a 13- and 14-year-old, to the King County Juvenile Detention Center, where they investigated first-degree robbery. One suspect was also charged with first-degree assault for threatening the supermarket clerk with a weapon.

According to authorities, the incident occurred shortly after 2 a.m. at a convenience store in the 400 block of Sunset Boulevard North. Store surveillance audio and video footage show one of the minors repeatedly pointing a gun at a store employee and demanding cash while the three other suspects picked up cash and e-cigarette products.

After the attack, the minors fled in a presumably stolen vehicle.

There were no injuries in the incident.

While Renton officers investigated the robbery, the King County Sheriff’s Office located the suspect’s vehicle involved and arrested all four occupants.

After determining that the occupants were the four minors involved in the store robbery, King County Sheriff’s Office officers transported the minors to the Renton Police Department and placed them into custody.

According to Renton police, the number of juvenile suspects in robberies per year increased by 161% from 2022 to 2023, with the estimated number of minors acting as robbery suspects increasing from 23 in 2022 to 60 in 2023. The increase came after a three-year decline that coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The total number of robberies in Renton increased in 2022 and 2023 after decreasing in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019.

In 2022, Renton Police reported 147 robberies, and in 2023, Renton Police reported 145 cases; an increase of about 50% from 98 cases in 2021.

The number of robbery reports to the King County District Attorney’s Office’s Juvenile Division remained lower than pre-pandemic levels, at 203 reports in 2023, compared to 245 reports in 2019.