A robber armed with a gun stole merchandise from a department store at Westfield Plaza Camino Real mall in Carlsbad on Wednesday.
The thief, who appeared to be in his 20s or early 30s, confronted a clerk at the Macy's store in the 2500 block of El Camino Real shortly after 9 a.m., displayed the gun and ordered the victim to put some jeans into a bag, police spokeswoman Jodee Sasway said.
He then walked out of the business and fled into the shopping center.
The employee described the bandit as a Latino wearing wearing a torn black-and-white flannel shirt and a black baseball cap with the bill pointing backward, Sasway said.
Patrol officers fanned out through the mall and surrounding area in search of the robber.
