Duluth police were searching Friday for three men suspected of committing back-to-back robberies Thursday night.
The men first robbed a man in a house in the East Hillside neighborhood, according to police, and then on their way out stopped to rob two other people who were unloading their car outside. In both cases the suspects fired a gun to intimidate their victims.
Officers responded to the two incidents in the 1100 block of East Seventh Street about 10:30 p.m. Thursday, according to Deputy Chief John Beyer.
The first victim reported that three men had entered his house. One of the suspects was armed with a handgun and fired a shot into the ceiling, police said. One suspect hit the homeowner in the head with an object, and all three searched the house, taking several objects before
fleeing, according to police.
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Beyer said police do not believe that incident was a random event.
"We don't traditionally see people just driving around and bursting into a random home," he said. "That is very, very, very rare. On some level, these guys selected this house."
But when the suspects fled the house, they saw two people nearby who were unloading their car after a shopping trip, police said. The suspects demanded their valuables and fired a shot into the air when the pair didn't comply fast enough, police said. The pair handed over cash, credit cards and a purse, according to police.
The suspect carrying the gun was described as a black man in his early 20s, about 5 feet 4 inches tall, with a thin build and a goatee and wearing a black-and-white sweatshirt. Police said they did not have detailed descriptions of the two others. They believe the men left the scene in a subcompact car.
The first victim was treated and released. The second two victims were not injured.
If you have information on the robberies, call the Violent Crimes Unit at
(218) 730-5050.
