A 3 A.M. Robbery at a Watertown 7-Eleven
Two people robbed the 7-Eleven on Mt. Auburn Street in East Watertown at 3:15 a.m., telling the clerk they had a handgun. No one was hurt.
Scene imagery is illustrative — not the actual locationIn the early hours of a Monday morning in October 2023, two people walked into the 7-Eleven on Mt. Auburn Street in East Watertown. According to Watertown Police, the pair claimed to have a handgun and demanded what was in the store.
They left with money and merchandise. The clerk working the overnight shift was not hurt. Police said the incident happened at 3:15 a.m. on October 16 and asked anyone with information to contact detectives.
Watertown News later reported that two suspects were arrested in Somerville about ten days after the robbery and arraigned on armed robbery charges. For the person behind the counter that night, the whole thing came down to a few minutes alone in a brightly lit store with two strangers saying they were armed.
Seconds versus minutes.
Nobody moves toward danger faster than police. The clock is still the clock.
Until they arrive, you are the plan: distance, locked doors, a phone in hand, training. A Massachusetts license takes months — start before you need it.
Sources: NENA 911 call-processing standard (STA-020.1-2020) · FBI, Active Shooter Incidents 2000–2013 · City of Boston, Boston About Results — BPD Performance Report. Boston's figure is its last published Priority 1 median, call receipt to arrival. Incident timing is from the FBI's study of timed violent incidents. Respect for the officers who answer these calls, always — this is arithmetic, not blame.
This could have been any of us.
Everyone in Watertown knows that 7-Eleven. It sits on one of the busiest streets in town, the kind of place you stop for coffee or a gallon of milk without thinking twice. The clerk was just doing an ordinary overnight shift. If you have ever worked a register, opened a shop early, or closed one late, this is the scenario that crosses your mind on the quiet nights.
The reality most of us never see coming.
Sources: Boston Police Department (BRIC year-end report) · FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Crime in the U.S. 2019 · OSHA news release citing NIOSH (2019 data)
What we tell our students.
Our instructors hear a version of this story all the time: someone works nights, something happens at their store or one nearby, and only then do they start asking how Massachusetts licensing actually works. Here is the honest part — the process takes months. Between the required training, the application, the interview, and the background check, a License to Carry is not something you can get quickly after a scare. The time to start learning is before anything happens, not after.
And to be clear, the first lessons are not about firearms at all. They are about awareness, avoidance, and de-escalation — a firearm is a last resort, and the clerk who stays calm and complies is usually making the right call. Training is what gives you the judgment to know the difference.
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