Restaurant Employee Shot During Holdup

OXNARD — An employee at the Arco Iris Juice Bar and Restaurant was shot twice during an attempted robbery.

Carlos Morales, 35, was wounded in the arm and elbow Wednesday night after grappling with one of two suspects who tried to rob the restaurant at 610 S. Oxnard Blvd.

He was taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition Thursday night.

About 10 p.m., a man wearing a dark red, hooded sweatshirt entered the downtown restaurant through the back door from an alley, Oxnard police said.

Carrying either a rifle or a shotgun, he ordered Morales to empty the cash register.

Morales grabbed the suspect and struggled over the rifle, authorities said. When they reached the rear door, another man carrying a rifle approached from the alley.

Spotting the second suspect, Morales pushed the first gunman away and turned to run back into the restaurant when he was shot, authorities said. It wasn’t immediately known which man shot Morales.

The suspects fled without taking anything from the restaurant.

The first suspect was described as a Latino, about 25 years old, 5 feet 2 and with a medium build. The man waiting in the alley was also a Latino, about 5 feet 7 with a slender build, authorities said.