Costa Mesa police are searching for robbers – at least one with a handgun – who ran onto the patio of the Seasons 52 restaurant at South Coast Plaza at dinnertime, ordered everyone to get down, and then stole a purse before fleeing Monday night, Nov. 22, authorities and witnesses said.
Police received calls about an armed robbery at the mall, in the 3300 block of Bristol Street, just before 7:15 p.m., spokeswoman Roxi Fyad said.
Witnesses told police three to five people wearing masks and dressed in black clothes entered the patio and told everyone to get on the floor, Fyad said.
A couple of diners dove into a nearby rose bush. Others dropped to the ground and some had scrapes and bruises to show for it, a man later tweeted. The diner, who did not want to be named in a news story, said one victim lost a family heirloom.
The patio was more than half full at the time, a diner who was there said in an interview.
The diner, who also did not want to be named, saying he fears for his safety, said he and three friends were enjoying dinner at the restaurant after playing in a charity golf tournament when one of the friends saw two people who looked suspicious.
They were wearing hooded sweatshirts and masks and entered the restaurant patio through a side gate. One of them had a handgun, he said, and he heard, “Get down.” As the suspects continued forward, he and a friend jumped over a wall and into a rose bush.
The person with the gun pointed it at another table, the diner said. He was not sure if the second suspect also had a gun.
“It was really quick, I would say three minutes and then we heard tires screeching (from the lower parking lot),” he said. “Luckily they didn’t fire the gun.”
After stealing the purse, the robbers fled in a white four-door Buick and headed south on Bristol Street, Fyad said.
Police and security arrived shortly thereafter, the diner said.
“It was awful we had to be there for it, but I’m thankful no one was hurt,” he said. “It’s still very traumatizing, a lot of staff there were very emotional.”
A spokeswoman for Seasons 52 said the restaurant was working with police, but declined to comment further.
No arrests have been made.
The incident follows similar high-profile armed robberies in Beverly Hills and on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles earlier this year, where suspects approached outdoor dining areas and robbed customers at gunpoint.