Police released surveillance video of the crimes on Monday as the search for the bandit continues.
It all began around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Natural Coffee at 715 South 55nd Street. An employee was behind the counter when the suspect came in, wearing a blue mask and carrying a gun. He pointed the weapon at her and said "Give up the money." The employee gave the man an undetermined amount of cash before he fled.
Then, at 12:56 p.m. on Thursday, the man entered the Cricket Mobile store at 5547 Baltimore Avenue. Again, the man pointed a gun at a worker.
Frederic ran and locked himself in a back room while the suspect helped himself to cash from the register.
"I didn't have my phone. I could not call the cops. Then I was like, 'I'm just going to stay because if he came to do something, he's just going to do it and leave,'" Frederic said.
A little more than an hour later, at 1:58 p.m., the man walked into the Lucky 7 Food Market at 54 North 57th Street, demanding money at gunpoint. A worker there struggled with the suspect, who then fled the store.
Later that night, at 7:20 p.m., police say an employee was locking up at Ace Cash Express at 738 South 52nd Street when the man approached her with a gun and demanded to be let into the store. They were unable to open the register, so the man robbed $3 from the worker and ran away.
Finally, at 8:09 p.m. Thursday, the man walked into Daslin Grocery at 700 South 55th Street wearing a white mask demanding money. The workers told him they didn't speak English, so the man fled the store without any money.
The suspect is described as a black male, 20 years old, standing 5'6" tall.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Philadelphia Police at 215-686-TIPS (8477), text a tip to PPD TIP (773847) or through PhillyPolice.com.
