Man tried to rob Walmart with rifle

• Tweet

MORENO BEACH, Calif., Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Authorities in California said a man who came into a Walmart with a rifle and asked for a manager was allegedly planning to rob the store.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department, which earlier said it did not know the rifle-toting man's intentions in the store, said the man who entered the Walmart in Moreno Beach with the rifle Monday asked for a manager and demanded the official open a money safe, The Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise reported Thursday.

Someone got on the store's public address system and said a robbery was in progress, and the man fled empty-handed before the safe could be opened.

Police said they used a tracker dog and a helicopter team in an unsuccessful attempt to locate the suspect.