Worker left brutally beaten after violent robbery at Chinatown boutique

CHINATOWN, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An employee at a boutique in Chinatown was brutally beaten Thursday during a violent robbery that was caught on video.

The frightening incident happened around 12 p.m. at Angies Boutique on N Broadway. Surveillance video shows a man knocking the woman to the ground as he reaches over the counter.

The employee tried stopping the suspect, sparking a brief physical struggle in which she was punched in the face. She remains in the hospital where she's being treated for a swollen eye.

The owner of the store told Eyewitness News the suspect got away with two pieces of art worth about $5,000.

"For a small business, it hurts us," he said. "Plus, with COVID and everything that's going on now, the economy down the drain, it's hard. So $5,000 is a lot for us. At the end, we're concerned about our health more than anything."

The store owner believes the suspect was at the store the day before the robbery and was seen acting strange.

"He said he wanted to purchase the item. We rang it up ... this is when it started getting suspicious," the owner said. "He started holding the item, like, in his arm and kind of tucked it away like he was about to run for the door."

The Los Angeles Police Department has since launched an investigation and is reviewing the surveillance video.

The store owner is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone with information on the suspect. He hopes the video will help police identify and capture him before he strikes again.