Bank Bandits Shoot at Police : Violence: Robbers in bulletproof vests take over a La Palma bank, then flee, firing at pursuing police cars.

Bank robbers wearing bulletproof vests opened fire on police officers and other drivers as the robbers sped through two cities and onto the Artesia Freeway at speeds up to 100 m.p.h. Monday, police said.

“This was one of the most violent bank robberies we have had in some time,” Capt. Vincent J. Giampa said. “These guys were prepared and ready (for violence), but they weren’t prepared enough.”

All three La Palma police cars involved in the 15-mile chase were hit by gunfire, and one officer suffered minor injuries. Bullets also crashed through two windows of a coffee shop, missing everyone inside, and pierced several cars during the chase, again missing people.

The violence began at 9:45 a.m. when three gunmen, at least two of whom were wearing stocking masks and bulletproof vests, entered Capital Bank at 4875 La Palma Ave. with semiautomatic pistols drawn, police and FBI officials said. They kicked and hit a customer and an employee, then leaped over the counter to scoop cash from the tellers’ drawers. Police and bank officials refused to say how much was taken.

A witness called police who arrived to see two men getting into a black Cadillac driven by a third man. The car sped north on Moody Avenue. But two blocks later at Houston Avenue, the car stopped and the gunmen got out and fired at least six shots at La Palma Police Sgt. Jeff Kirkpatrick. He was struck on the arm and face by glass fragments.

Kirkpatrick and another La Palma police unit continued to chase the gunmen, who continued to fire, into Cerritos, where Moody becomes Carmenita Avenue.

At 183rd Street in Cerritos, the gunmen made an abrupt U-turn and drove toward the pursuing officers, firing numerous shots as they drove past, disabling Kirkpatrick’s car and striking two other cars, Giampa said.

“It was at this point that the sergeant had the opportunity to return fire, but he chose not to do so because of the innocent people who were nearby,” Giampa said.

As the robbers sped on the Carmenita Street overpass at the Artesia Freeway, their gunfire crashed through Jack’s Restaurant at Carmenita and Orangethorpe Avenue, police said. A slug came through a window and along the restaurant’s main aisle, exiting through a window next to the front door.

“We were very lucky that nobody was walking inside or was coming in,” said Manager Gregory Voudouris. About five customers were in the restaurant.

The robbers then drove onto the westbound Artesia Freeway, where another two La Palma units and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department units continued the chase.

The gunmen, who continued to fire and whose gunshots hit at least four cars, exited the freeway at Cherry Avenue in Long Beach. The car crashed into a curb at Cherry and 65th Street, flattening a tire. The gunmen then surrendered without a struggle as officers closed in.

No one was seriously injured during the 16-mile chase.

One of the suspects, Alonzo G. Garrett, 26, of Long Beach, was shot in the hand during the chase, either by himself or one of the other robbers, Giampa said. Although “dozens” of shots were fired at the officers, Giampa said, they never returned fire.

Also taken into custody were Long Beach residents Orville Joiner, 34, and Harold B. Haywood, 31. All three men were booked on suspicion of armed robbery and the attempted murder of a police officer. They are being held in La Palma City Jail.

At least three guns and an unspecified amount of money were recovered from the car, Giampa said.

The FBI said it was the 248th bank robbery in Orange County this year.

It also was the third “takeover” robbery in three weeks in north Orange County, in which robbers take over a bank, including one at a Bank of America in Buena Park on Saturday.

FBI Agent Jim Donckels said agents are investigating any connections to the men arrested Monday.