Tourists now extra vigilant after masked robbers shoot man for Cartier watch in Venice

VENICE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- As Southern California welcomes tourists from all over the world for Super Bowl weekend, there is growing concern they'll be targeted by criminals.

On Thursday, police say tourists from out of state were followed from nearby Venice Beach as they were walking back to their rental car.

The attack occurred near the corner of Washington Boulevard and Dell Avenue. Police say the suspects were wearing black ski masks when they got out of a car and told one of the victims to give them his Cartier watch.

Eyewitness News spoke with several tourists who were in town, many of whom issued warnings.

"Just be safe," said Jake Marsh, who was visiting from New York City. "Be aware of your surroundings, and never go alone. I feel it's good to have company. That's some good advice I would give."

During the attack, the victim reportedly refused to give up the Cartier watch - which are known to come with hefty price tags. That's when investigators say he was shot in the leg.

"That's why you don't wear Cartier watches out where you can see them," said another tourist ABC7 spoke with.

The owner of a store on the corner of where the incident occurred said detectives looked at the surveillance video from his security cameras.

It happened in broad daylight and tourists say it's now certainly something they have on their minds.

"We are from out of town [and] we don't know where to go exactly," said Yui Williams of Philadelphia. "We don't know what are the safe spots. So I guess that could be a little bit concerning, but we tried to avoid going outside at night."

Brett Williams, another tourist, said, "I don't really get too caught up with it. There's so many other positive things going on, and like I get so many smiles and hello and good mornings here."

Police say the masked suspects left the area in two vehicles.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Los Angeles Police Department.