Surveillance video of brazen take-over robbery at Emeryville Target released

Emeryville police released footage of three masked men who robbed a Target store at gunpoint just after midnight Saturday.

The robbery occurred at the Emeryville Target store at 1555 40th St. as the store was closing for the night, according to police. Two of the three suspects were armed, and they took an undisclosed amount of cash before the trio fled in a four-door silver sedan about one minute after first entering the store, officers said.

Surveillance footage released Tuesday by police showed some of the early moments of the brazen robbery. In the video, two Target employees are seen standing by the entrance as the three men entered the store about 12:08 a.m.

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The first suspect is seen running through the doors, carrying a handgun and wearing a backpack, making his way to the left of the store. He is followed quickly by a second man, who appeared unarmed in the footage, and who went in the same direction as the first suspect.

A third man is seen following behind a few seconds later, but rather than following the others, he slows down to stop one of the employees who attempted to flee the store.

Blocking the exit, the suspect points a rifle at the employee as both visible workers get on the floor. The employee closest to the suspect is then kicked by the man, and he is then seen ushering the two employees to their feet, walking them away from the entrance and out of sight of the surveillance camera.

A short time later, the three suspects then flee the store with one person noticeably carrying items in his hands as he exits.

Police have made no arrests in the case, and Emeryville police Capt. Oliver Collins called the robbery a "brazen act."

"Our biggest concern is, why this place? Why that time of night? Why Emeryville? Of all the targets in the Bay Area," Collins told KPIX, "we don't particularly see that location as a soft target area."

Collins said he is hoping someone might know who the suspects are after viewing the video, or could help generate some leads for the officers. Collins spoke with NBC Bay Area and said that the robbery does not strike him as "coincidental," telling the broadcast station that there is a possibility of "either knowledge or background in retail establishments and the close-down procedure that retail establishments have."

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Jenna Lyons contributed to this report.