Three armed robberies have occurred in the past week in Waltham at the Shell gas station, the Via Latina Market and Kristina’s Variety—with the perpetrators, who have yet to be identified, still at large.

According to a Jan. 21 Waltham Patch article, police are still looking for five different suspects in these robberies, which occurred on Jan. 12, 16 and 17 in downtown Waltham.

The first occurred in the early evening of Jan. 12 at the Shell gas station on Main Street. The Waltham Police Department has had difficulty identifying the lone male suspect because he was wearing a ski mask at the time the robbery occurred, according to the Waltham Patch. After entering the gas station, he held up a gun and asked the clerk for money from the cash register. The Waltham Police Department website describes him as “tall and thin,” white and wearing a black sweatshirt with a red hood.

A similar robbery occurred four days later at the Via Latina Market on Main Street. Around 5:30 p.m., two men entered the store and held the cashier at gunpoint as they demanded money. Waltham Police were called to the scene, but the men had already escaped by the time officers arrived. According to the Waltham Police website, the main suspect is described as being either white or Hispanic and wearing white gloves and a hood to shield his face. The second suspect, whom witnesses describe as the “lookout” in the operation, is Hispanic and was wearing black gloves and a mask at the time of the robbery, according to police. 

Lastly, in the early evening of Jan. 17, a third robbery took place at Kristina’s Variety, a small variety store on Warren Street. According to the Waltham Patch, two men also conducted this robbery, wielding a semi-automatic handgun and taking cash and 10 packs of Newport cigarettes before fleeing the scene.

Nobody was injured in the robberies and no shots were fired, according to a Jan. 22 Waltham News Tribune article.

The Waltham Police Department wrote in an online statement that it is unclear whether or not the robberies were related in any way. Although all three robberies were caught on surveillance camera, the suspects have not been identified and have not been caught. Waltham Police have released online statements on their website and Facebook page asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspects with images from the surveillance tapes.

Robberies have increased in Waltham in the past 10 years—significantly in the past year—according to the Waltham News Tribune. In December 2013, five suspects were arrested in Waltham for various violent robberies on Moody Street. However, as of Jan. 21 of this year, three of the five suspects have had their charges against them dropped, including armed robbery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

A Boston.com article states that Waltham Police have increased their surveillance of certain areas in downtown Waltham due to this recent spike in both armed and unarmed robberies in the past year.