TEMPLE CITY — A gunman fled empty-handed early Sunday after trying to rob an In-N-Out Burger and its employees, authorities said.

The crime took place just after 2 a.m. at the restaurant at 10601 Lower Azusa Road, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Greg Thompson said.

A man walked up to the order window after the business was closed and demanded cash from an employee, the lieutenant said.

The employee thought the man was joking until he raised his sweat shirt to expose a black handgun, officials said. The employee then told the would-be robber that there was no money at the business.

The gunman took the employee to the back of the business, where three other employees were cleaning, and ordered all four to the ground, Thompson said.

He demanded the employees open a safe, the lieutenant said, but the employees responded that they had no access to it. The robber then ordered the employees to empty their pockets, but they were already empty.

At that point, the robber ran from the scene empty-handed, Thompson said.

The failed robber was described as a Latino man in his 30s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, 180 pounds, wearing a blue hooded sweat shirt and black pants.

Anyone with information was asked to call the sheriff’s Temple Station.