Standoff at California Target store ends; 3 in custody

Police search a man who came out of the Target store Monday in Culver City, California. They searched everyone who exited the store to establish their identities

CULVER CITY, California (CNN) -- Three alleged gunmen were taken into custody Monday after a botched robbery in which about 40 people were held hostage at a Target store in Culver City, California. The standoff ended peacefully after about three hours with no shots fired, and nobody hurt, police said.

A police spokesman said all employees remaining inside the store were directed by police to leave just before 8 a.m. (11 a.m. ET). A total of about 40 people came out of the store throughout the morning, including one male suspect who was handcuffed as he left the building.

Culver City spokeswoman Randi Joseph said police have begun to systematically search the building.

The people who left the building were put onto a city bus, where they were questioned by police.

Joseph said two of the suspected would-be robbers were dressed in employee uniforms; the third was not.

When asked what the suspects were after, Culver City spokeswoman Randi Joseph replied, "Presumably, they were looking for cash"

Because of the possible confusion between robbers and employees, everybody leaving the building was searched. And Joseph would not rule out the possibility one or more of the suspects was a store employee.

"It's our understanding that someone knew when the alarms were turned off and when the perfect time to come in was," said Joseph.

Joseph said police were called about the attempted holdup between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. She said the robbers were "startled" when police arrived on the scene and the "robbery stopped in progress."

She said police had communications with the employees inside throughout the situation and that there were no injuries and no shots were fired.

A hostage crisis team and a SWAT team from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department were sent to the scene.

The store was not open when the aborted robbery happened, but a number of overnight employees were inside.

Culver City is 14 miles southwest of Los Angeles.

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Culver City
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
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