The robberies occurred near the Ena Road and Hobron Lane intersection at 12:05 a.m. and 2:30 a.m., police said.

In both robberies, the robber stole women's purses. In the last robbery, the robber emerged from a car and demanded the woman's purse. When the woman refused, he struck her on the head with a handgun and drove off in the car. The 28-year-old woman suffered minor injuries, police said.

Hypodermic needle spill re-routes H-1 traffic

A semi-truck spilled a cargo of unused hypodermic needles and chemicals on the H-1 Freeway east-bound near the Dillingham off-ramp today and forced police to re-route traffic around the scene.

Firefighters responded to the scene at about 9:30 a.m. and found 20 small cases of hypodermic needles on the roadway, said Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Richard Soo.

The needle spill was contained and did not spread over a long distance, Soo said. Two chemicals potassium chloride and oxybutymine chloride also spilled and hazardous materials crews were cleaning it up, Soo said. Police closed two lanes and the shoulder of the freeway.