A man was punched several times and carjacked as he was filling his tank Monday morning at a Garden Grove gas station in a violent crime caught on camera.
Police responded at 5 a.m. to the 76 station in the 12500 block of Knott Street in the northern Orange County community.
The man was fueling his Toyota sedan when he was approached by a man wearing red pants and a puffy jacket who distracted him, police said. Security camera video showed another man slip into his car through the passenger side door and a third standing in front of the vehicle.
The situation escalated quickly when the victim was punched several times before three carjackers left in his car. The victim was knocked to the ground during the attack and tried to get up.
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"As you can see in the video it goes wrong real quick and the victim, out of nowhere, just starts getting punched in the face," said Sgt. Nick Jensen, of the Garden Grove Police Department.
None of the attackers appeared to be armed with weapons, police said.
The victim suffered minor face injuries.
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"The easy thing for us to say is let them have the property, but that's easy for me to say," Jensen said. "The biggest thing I could say is if you're getting gas, lock your vehicle. If your keys are in your pocket and your car is locked at least no one can get into that vehicle."
There were no reports of arrests Thursday morning.
One attacker was described as a man in his 20s about 5-foot-8 to 6 feet tall wearing a white puffy jacket and red pants. Another attacker is a man in his 20s, about 5-foot-6 with a black hooded sweatshirt that featured a white design and light-colored pants. The third attacker was described as a man in his 20s, about 5-foot-6 wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and light-colored pants.
Anyone with information was asked to call detectives at 714-741-5837 or should email Detective Dennis Wardle at dennisw@ggcity.org.
