Masked gunman steals $10,000 from TGI Fridays, pistol-whips worker

A gunman pistol-whipped a TGI Fridays worker and stole more than $10,000 from the restaurant chain’s Woodland Hills eatery early Monday morning, police said.

The masked thief also spirited away with some of the employees’ cellphones.

The restaurant, in the 5900 block of Canoga Avenue, was closed when a man walked in through an open door at about 2 a.m., pulled out a gun and demanded that the cashier turn over cash, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Alex Kim.

At some point during the robbery an altercation happened and the gunman hit a male employee with a silver-colored pistol, Kim said.

After the robbery, employees barricaded themselves inside the restaurant office and called the police. At about 3 a.m., officers in about a dozen patrol cars swarmed the eatery. They searched the restaurant and escorted the workers out.

As dawn broke, LAPD forensic experts and detectives were still examining the scene and trying to retrieve surveillance video from the business and surrounding buildings.

Follow Southern California crime @lacrimes.