3 men caught on camera ransacking Lawrence store

LAWRENCE, Mass. (WHDH) -- A surveillance camera caught three men, masked and armed, trying to rob a Lawrence convenience store.

The suspects trapped three people inside before police caught them.

“Eventually we were able to get them to come out of the store about an hour later. Come out with their hands up and without their weapons,” said John Romero, Lawrence Police Chief.

Before the men are arrested, they're seen inside the store pointing guns at the store owner and his wife.

A store clerk was dragged across the floor, while the suspects ransacked the place. When police arrived, the suspects ran toward the back of the store.

The owner and his were able to flee. But the clerk was left inside.

“All of a sudden the lights went out. The perp had shut off the power in the store,” said Chief Romero.

Chief Romero said officers could hear shots being fired near the back of the store, but when the suspects surrendered, police found the clerk inside and unharmed.

“She was very traumatized by the event but, fortunately she was not injured. She was found in a freezer, a large freezer. She had gone in there and hidden back there,” said Chief Romero.

Officials said the suspects were trying to shoot through a back door. Investigators said the suspects they arrested could be responsible for as many as six recent robberies.