Two children and two adults threw cans of Red Bull at an AM-PM mini-mart clerk in La Mirada Monday night when he tried to stop them from stealing multiple cases of the energy drink.
According to the clerk, the robbery started when a woman headed to the register with two young boys to distract him with questions about cigarettes.
The boys then ran off with several cases of Red Bull and took them to a minivan waiting outside with an adult male inside, he said.
Surveillance video captured them throwing cans of Red Bull at convenience store employees before they fled the store with more cases of the beverage. In total, the four got away with seven cases of the energy drink, which is worth about $700, according to the clerk.
The manager of the store said his employees were frightened but not hurt. He added that he was less shocked by the theft itself and more surprised at the fact that these adults used children, who he believes to be about 10 years old, to pull off the crime.
The store clerk seems to think that the four suspects might be a family, but police are unsure what the relationship is between them.