A woman who was eating at a famous Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills on Thursday afternoon was shot dead when three men robbed another meal.
Shortly after 2 p.m., the three arrested a man who ate at Il Pastaio in the 400-block of Canon Drive following a statement issued by the Beverly Hills Police Department.
The robbers ran away and the woman was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, according to Capt. Max Subin, Beverly Hills police.
A second person was treated at the scene for injuries but no one was shot at, police said.
Subin said the thieves apparently targeted the man, not at the restaurant.
A law enforcement source who requested anonymity to speak openly about the public inquiry said police believed the man who was robbed was aiming at his high watch. The source said the woman’s injury was a grazing ground.
Opened in 1994, Il Pastaio is one of the many exclusive Italian restaurants owned by chef Celestino Drago, who also operates restaurants in Santa Monica and Los Angeles. A call to the restaurant for comment was not immediately returned Thursday afternoon.
Authorities have hit some of the West LA neighborhoods bordering Beverly Hills in recent weeks, including the nearby Wilshire area.
Between January 30 and February 15, seven people were robbed of the Rolex watches in the vicinity of Mid-City and the Melrose corridor. Many of the robberies took place during the day, with criminals targeting people who ‘wore high-quality jewelery, specifically Rolex watches’, investigators said.
The thieves “used different types of vehicles and appear to be following victims of restaurants and shops in the area,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release last month. “In most cases, the suspects wait for the victims to walk to their vehicles and reach an isolated area before falling on their gun.”