By
The Associated Press
CULVER CITY, Calif. - Gunmen invaded a closed discount store early yesterday and ordered about 60 employees to the floor at gunpoint in a botched robbery attempt, starting a standoff with police that ended peacefully about 2 1/2 hours later.
Three people were arrested, police said. No shots were fired and no one was injured.
Employees in the Target store on Sepulveda Boulevard notified police at 5:20 a.m. that there was a robbery in progress, said police Sgt. Lou Castle. The store normally opens at 8 a.m., but Culver City police said about 60 employees were already inside.
Around an hour later, at daybreak, a group of about 15 people left the store and police ordered them to the ground.
"When these people exited the store we had an employee identify them. Three of them were detained," Castle said.
The siege apparently ended around 7:45 a.m. when the remaining employees left the store with their hands in the air and one man in that group also was detained.
The three people taken into custody were questioned at police headquarters. One was later released and the other two were booked, but the charges were not immediately disclosed.
A third man was arrested and booked later after police dogs flushed him out of the bushes of Ballona Creek about two miles from the Target store.
Police said the two who were initially arrested were wearing Target employee uniforms, and it was not clear whether they were former employees or had somehow obtained the uniforms either before or during the robbery attempt. They also said the suspects may have been familiar with the workings of Target's security system.
Robert Redmon, whose 25-year-old son, David, works the Target graveyard shift, came to the store with his wife to see what was happening.
"When I heard about the hostages at Target, I about fell apart. It's tough because I can't get any information from anyone, Redmon said.
Target corporate spokesman Patti Morris said crisis plans are in effect at all stores and the procedures were apparently followed during the Culver City robbery attempt. She wouldn't elaborate on those plans.
"We do ensure that the appropriate Target resources and police resources are contacted," Morris said.
Target stores often have large numbers of employees in stores after hours, she said.
