LOCAL : Van Nuys Store Bandit Sought

Los Angeles police were searching today for a man who robbed a Toys ‘R’ Us store in Van Nuys and fled in a car driven by a woman who may have been an innocent bystander, detectives said.

After robbing the store of an undetermined amount of cash Thursday, the man dropped his gun, entered a car in the parking lot and ordered the woman to drive away, detective Richard Schauer said.

Neither the robber nor the woman has been seen since, and investigators have not dismissed the possibility that the woman might have been a shopper whose car was commandeered by the robber, Schauer said.

“There’s still that possibility, but I just don’t know,” the detective said. “It also could be somebody he knows.”

The robbery occurred at 2:20 p.m. Thursday in the store at 16040 Sherman Way, Schauer said. The robber approached a cashier by pretending to be a customer, displayed a handgun in his waistband and fled with the money, Schauer said.