Law enforcement arrested four minors ranging from 13 to 15-years-old on July 18 following the at-gunpoint robbery of a convenience store in Renton.

Law enforcement booked the minors, two 15-year-olds and a 13 and 14-year-old, into the King County Juvenile Detention Center on investigation of robbery in the first degree, with one suspect booked on an additional charge of assault in the first degree who threatened the convenience store’s employee with a gun.

According to the department, the incident occurred just after 2 a.m. at a convenience store located in the 400 block of Sunset Boulevard North; with audio and video footage from the store surveillance showing one of the minors aiming a handgun at a store employee multiple times and demanding cash as the three additional suspects collected cash and vaping products.

The minors fled in a suspected stolen vehicle following the robbery.

No injuries resulted from the incident.

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

After determining the occupants matched the four minors involved in the convenience store robbery, King County Sheriff’s Office deputies transported and transferred custody of the minors to the Renton Police Department.

According to data from the Renton Police Department, the number of juvenile suspects per year for robberies jumped 161% from 2022 to 2023, with the estimated number of minors serving as robbery suspects rising from 23 in 2022 to 60 in 2023. The jump arrived after a three-year decrease coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of overall robbery cases in Renton rose in 2022 and 2023 following a decline in 2020 and 2021 from 2019.

In 2022, Renton police reported 147 robbery cases, and in 2023, Renton police reported 145 cases; up approximately 50% from 98 cases in 2021.

The number of felony referrals to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office’s Juvenile Division for robberies remained lower than pre-pandemic rates in 2023, at 203 referrals in 2023 in comparison to 2019 at 245 referrals.