Suspect poses as customer before pulling out gun on cashier in Chatsworth sandwich shop robbery

CHATSWORTH, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The owner of a popular sandwich shop in Chatsworth fears for the safety of her employees after a robber posed as a customer before pulling out a gun on a cashier.

The robbery, which was all caught on video, happened Wednesday at Capriotti's on De Soto Avenue.

Surveillance video shows the suspect at the counter, placing an order. He then pulls out a gun and then asks the employee to open the register.

The frightened employee apparently didn't have a key so the suspect yells at another employee.

"Will you please open the register?" he asks. "Put the money in the bag and nobody will get hurt."

The suspect ended up getting away with about $500.

Capriotti's owner Brenda Torres wasn't at the shop when the robbery happened. She said this was the third time the shop has been targeted.

"I'm very upset, I'm very stressed, I'm very scared, because now, [the employees] are just scared to come to work," said Torres. "My biggest fear is my employees, the safety of my people."

Data from the Los Angeles Police Department's Devonshire Division, which is where Capriotti's is located, shows that the average number of robberies has remained about the same for the last five years, with the exception of 2020.

Employees called police immediately after the armed robbery, but Torres is frustrated, saying it took police 45 minutes to arrive.

"This happened at 8:10 and they came at 8:55, so it's like, what needs to happen?" she asked. "They need to fire a gun so they can come right away? This is not okay."

The suspect remains on the run. Torres has since filed a police report and is asking anyone with information to contact authorities.