BUENA PARK : Three Elude Police in Vacant Store
A police SWAT team used smoke bombs, a police helicopter and a 12-man team to search unsuccessfully Thursday for three armed men seen entering a vacant hardware store.
The 1 p.m. call came from an employee of an Oshman’s Sporting Goods next to the vacant Handyman hardware store at 8181 La Palma Ave.
The employee, John Hemminger, said he saw the three men “walking over to the door and then they hopped right in.” He said the men removed plywood that had been placed over a glass door on the building.
Buena Park police sent a 12-man hostage rescue team, which used smoke bombs and a public address system before entering the building. The building was declared safe about 4 p.m. No one was injured, but the Oshman’s store was evacuated for about two hours during the incident, police said.
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