Gunman Robs 3 Queens Gas Stations In 24 Hours: NYPD

QUEENS, NY -- Cops are searching for a gunman who allegedly robbed three Queens gas stations in 24 hours earlier this week, and another in February.

This week's string of robberies began in Jamaica on Monday at around 3 a.m. when the thief pulled into Gulf Gas Station at 11-06 Van Wyck Expressway. The man stepped out of a rusted, dark colored sedan and pulled out a gun on the 43-year-old employee who'd been pumping gas for him, police said.

He demanded money and drove away after the employee handed over $40 in cash, cops said.

At around 11:20 p.m. that same day, the thief struck again at another Gulf Gas Station just over a mile away in Rochdale. This time, he walked right into the gas station at 153-28 Rockaway Blvd., pulled out a gun on a 64-year-old employee and demanded cash.

The man looted $350 from the cash register, grabbed the employee's cell phone and cash, and sped from the gas station down Rockaway Boulevard in his sedan, authorities said.

But the spree wasn't over yet.

Just two hours later, the crook allegedly held up another gas station across the borough in Long Island City, police said. Inside the Gastrac at 50-35 Northern Blvd., he followed a 54-year-old employee into his kiosk, pulled out the gun and demanded money, cops said.

The thief snatched $300 from the cash register and was caught on tape hopping into the dark sedan and speeding down Northern Boulevard early Tuesday morning.

Cops believe this isn't the man's first attempt at robbing a gas station.

He is one of two men who tried to rob a Sunoco in Astoria at gunpoint on Feb. 17, but made off with only $30, police said.

The two men, both of whom cops described as 5-foot-9 and around 170 pounds, were caught on camera fleeing the gas station at 88-20 Astoria Blvd. in a shiny silver BMW M3 - a stark contrast to the dark, beat up getaway car cops linked to the three latest robberies.