HAMMOND — The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in identifying and finding three men who left a gun in a gas station ice machine after a wreck, believing them to be connected to a shooting in Independence in July. 

Deputies responded to a crash at a gas station on Wardline Road in Hammond on Thursday in which callers reported three men running away from the wrecked vehicle and carrying what looked like "machine guns."

In an investigation, detectives found that the vehicle had been stolen from the Independence area around a year ago. They also discovered drugs and more guns in the vehicle, and that one of the men allegedly left an AR pistol in one of the gas station's Reddy Ice Machines.

After further investigation, TPSO said the three men are believed to be connected to a July shooting in Independence, in which no one was hurt. 

Sheriff Gerald Sticker asks anyone with information about the individuals to contact TPSO at 985-402-2088, or to submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-554-5245 or their website.