Taco stand workers pistol-whipped in series of robberies in LA's South Bay

Three taco stand workers were pistol-whipped across the face by a group of thieves during back-to-back robberies in the South Bay area of Los Angeles Friday night.

One of the wounded victims was taken to a hospital after three to four people walked up to a taco stand where he was working in the city of Torrance, near Torrance Boulevard and Denker Avenue, around 11:40 p.m. and demanded cash, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. They fired a single gunshot into the air, police said, before taking off with some cash from the business and driving away in a dark-colored vehicle with no license plate and tinted windows. It was the first in a string of four robberies that night.

Within the next hour, police said they targeted three other taco stands all located within three miles of each other. 

The suspects all remained at large the following morning, and LAPD has only described them as male. They were each wearing all black clothing with their faces disguised by black face coverings, police said.

The second taco stand they robbed was in the Harbor Gateway South area, near 190th Street and Normandie Avenue, police said. They went up to the business at about 11:52 p.m., police said, pistol-whipping another worker in the face before stealing cash from the business and fleeing the scene. They later targeted another stand, in Gardena, stealing cash from the street vendor near 182nd Street and Western Avenue before robbing a fourth and final taco stand in Torrance, according to police.

During that last robbery, which was at about 12:20 a.m., police said the robbers pistol-whipped another worker, leaving his face bloodied. First responders treated him at the scene.

No other details have been released by law enforcement as the investigation and search for the suspects continue.