OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Oakland, Calif., has been hit with a rash of restaurant robberies, including several where masked gunmen have come in during business hours, police said.
In addition to stealing restaurants' takings, customers and employees have been robbed, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.
"These takeover robberies have struck at the very heart of our community, because it affects the desire of people to be able to go out at night, to go to restaurants and to go shopping," Mayor Ron Dellums said. "This has to end, and we are being very aggressive in how we deal with this issue."
The most recent takeover occurred Wednesday night at a Chinese restaurant, the King of King. Investigators say that the robbers entered about an hour before closing time and got away with about $2,000.
The manager told the Chronicle that one customer asked the robbers to return his wallet but changed his mind when he was threatened with a gun.
