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Four boys, aged 16 to 17, have been charged in connection with a series of convenience store robberies at gunpoint in central Ottawa earlier this year.

Three of the robberies were in January, all committed by two or three youths.

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Then on April 2 one youth tried to rob an Elm Street convenience store, pointing a handgun at the employees until an employee jumped him. The robber hit the employee in the head with the weapon but as he escaped he dropped what turned out to be an imitation gun. Police say the employee was injured but not seriously.

Police have now arrested four youths, three aged 17 and one 16-year-old. Each is charged with between two and four counts of robbery, as well as possession of weapons and wearing a disguise.

They can’t be named because of their ages.

One is charged with possession of a firearm while prohibited from having one. Each is charged with various types of breaches — of probation, of recognizance or of an undertaking.

The unidentified stores are on Elm Street, Preston Street and Fifth Avenue.

tspears@ottawacitizen.com

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