$50,000 reward offered by jeweler whose $500,000 watch was stolen in shooting at Beverly Hills restaurant

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (CNS) -- Armed, private security guards will be deployed in Beverly Hills in response to a robbery and shooting at an upscale restaurant, Police Chief Dominick Rivetti said Saturday.

"First and foremost safety is our top priority in Beverly Hills and criminal activity of any kind will not be tolerated,'' Rivetti said in a statement. I want the world to know that Beverly Hills is a safe community.

"We invest significantly in our police department to ensure our officers have every resource necessary to do their jobs effectively. We will be supplementing our personnel with armed, private security guards who will have a strong, visible presence in the city.''

Officers were called about 2:10 p.m. Thursday to Il Pastaio in the 400 block of North Canon Drive, near Santa Monica Boulevard, on a report of a robbery with gunfire, and arrived to find a woman who had been shot.

The wounded victim was not the intended target, according to police.

Woman shot in leg during robbery at Beverly Hills restaurant

A woman was shot in the leg during a robbery at a Beverly Hills restaurant on Thursday, according to police and witnesses.

"The female was at the location with two other people when three male suspects demanded property from another patron,'' according to a Beverly Hills Police Department statement. "One of the suspects shot the female and the three suspects fled the location on foot.''

A rose gold Richard Mille RM 11-03 Flyback Chronograph watch, estimated to be worth $500,000 and was stolen from jeweler Shay Belhassen, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Belhassen has offered a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the capture of the suspects and return of the watch.

He said he was angered because the robbery was the latest of a series of similar crimes in the area in recent weeks and said he believes police aren't doing enough about them.

Belhassen told The Times one of the perpetrators "ran and pulled a gun from his jacket pocket, grabbed me from the back of my chair, choking me and putting a gun to my head.''

Belhassen said he grabbed the gun and fought the robber to the ground.