WHITTIER — Two men tried to rob a credit union vault Thursday, but fled with only an employees keys after the crime was interrupted, police said.
The robbery was reported about 7:20 a.m. at the Whittier Municipal Employees Federal Credit Union, Whittier police Lt. Wyatt Powell said.
A lone employee was arriving for work when two robbers confronted him, pointed a handgun at him and demanded his keys, Powell said.
The robbers used the keys to get into the credit union, then ordered the employee to lead them to the vault, the lieutenant said.
Due to a mechanical problem, the vault door could not be opened, Powell said.
A technician arrived at the credit union to work on the broken vault door and interrupted the crime, he added.
The robbers fled in a GMC Jimmy SUV with only the employee’s keys.
Police found the SUV abandoned in a nearby neighborhood, Powell said. It had been reported stolen.
One of the robbers was described as a Latino man in his late 20s, officials said, and the other was described only as a man in his mid-20s.
The credit union employee was not hurt in the incident.