Two robbers and a getaway driver are sought after an armed robbery Monday at a Rolex store in a Century City mall.
LA police and search dogs scoured the neighborhood around the Century City Westfield Mall for several hours, but the armed robbers were able to evade investigators.
Police reopened the streets around the mall just before 5 p.m. following the brazen robbery.
The heist occurred at midday inside the first-level store at Westfield Century City Mall in the 10000 block of Santa Monica Boulevard. No injuries were reported.
At least one shot from a rifle was fired during the crime, City News Service reported.
Investigators said two men were dressed in all black and wearing ski masks when they rode up from the parking garage carrying automatic weapons.
A security guard tried to intervene, but the men were able to make a quick escape because of the store's location close to the top of an escalator, police said.
News
Top news of the day
"He works for the Rolex store as an armed guard," said Lt. John Jendal. "He tried to get to the door before they did. They fired a round and ordered everyone to the floor."
The suspects made off with luxury watches and jumped into an older Toyota Corolla driven by a third man in the parking garage.
Police said that car was stolen from South LA Sunday. They ditched the car on Century Park West near Constellation Boulevard, jumped a fence and ran into the neighborhood.
Police searched on the ground and from a helicopter but were unable to find the suspects.
The Rolex store is closed Monday evening, but the mall remains open. Police recovered one of the robber's ski masks in addition to the stolen car. Investigators said they’re combing through surveillance video to look for additional leads.
Detailed descriptions of the men were not immediately available.
