Walnut Creek police are investigating an armed robbery which happened downtown Tuesday night.
Three armed men carried it out around 7:30 p.m. on Bonanza Street, police said. All three were described as wearing all-black clothing and masks.
“Victims told the patrol officers that they were robbed at gunpoint,” said Lieutenant Bruce Jower. “Two separate victims. One victim was pistol whipped and that victim’s bag was stolen. And the other victim had his wallet stolen.”
Jower did confirm that one of the two victims was an off-duty police officer. That officer does not work for the Walnut Creek Police Department.
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Although dispatch audio indicated that the robbers had also taken the officer’s badge, police would not confirm that.
Investigators said Wednesday that two suspects were arrested in Oakland in connection with the case.
This robbery is the latest in a series of downtown incidents that’s left residents rattled.
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“Heard of the earlier ones, not of today’s. And it’s bothersome, it really is. It makes you think you’re not as safe as you thought you were,” said Walnut Creek resident Helen Vajk.
“Unfortunately, we have had five past street robberies that involved firearms in the past month,” Jower said. “But, of those five, we’ve arrested suspects involved in three of those robberies.”
The department said it plans to step up patrols and that their officers are following leads. They ask anyone with information about the robbery to reach out to them.
