Surveillance cameras caught the moment when employees at a novelty shop in California brawled with an alleged thief, KTLA 5 reported.
The shop’s owner, Jovanne Bernal, told KTLA 5 that the store, which opened less than a year ago, has already been targeted by alleged thieves three times, and that this time the suspected thief allegedly pulled out a gun and threatened his employees.
Video appears to show the suspect enter the store, Into the Retroverse, wearing a hoodie and mask before moving behind one of the display cases and filling a bag with Pokemon cards. (RELATED: Video Shows Jewelry Store Owners Fighting Off Attempted Robber Wearing A Trump Mask)
“He just started taking stuff and said, ‘I need the money,’ and that’s when my buddy Alex went and tried to attack him,” employee Arturo Garcia told KTLA 5. “That’s when we started doing it in all out brawl.”
The footage appears to show two store employees grappling with the suspect, sending the three men and a bunch of store merchandise to the floor before the suspect loses his mask and appears to pull out a gun.
The owner, Bernal, told KTLA 5 that the alleged thief made off with a bag full of Pokemon cards worth $3,000 to $5,000.
Bernal’s brother Alexander, one of the two employees who tried to thwart the apparent robbery, told KTLA 5 he thought the alleged thief was going to shoot him.
“After he pulled out the gun, he said he should’ve messed me up or he should’ve shot me,” Alexander reportedly said.
Surveillance cameras captured the violence that erupted when an armed man strolled into the store and started stealing merchandise. Video & Details: https://t.co/9mhZ5uy6eJ pic.twitter.com/Viqwnb5Aa0
— KTLA (@KTLA) April 15, 2024
When asked what it was like to have a business he had dreamed about opening since childhood allegedly hit three times in one year, Bernal told the outlet, “It sucks. You spend your life trying to build it and then somebody just walks in and says I’m going to take it and because of how things are, they can.”
The surveillance footage of the alleged theft and brawl has Bernal worried, with the shop owner telling KTLA 5 that the firm that manages the building where his shop is located needs to increase security before somebody else is attacked or killed.