LOS ANGELES – Surveillance video captured the moment three gunmen attacked a man who was wearing a Rolex watch while walking his dog in West Hollywood.
The victim, Rocco DiStefano, 29, who owns The Lab Athletic Club on Sunset Boulevard, said the incident happened on Tuesday in broad daylight at around 2 p.m.
He was walking his dog on a sidewalk outside the gym when the armed suspects spotted him.
Video shows the gunmen pulling over in a black Cadillac sedan, quickly jumping out of the car and sprinting toward DiStefano.
“When I turned around, it was three masked men running up to me,” he recalled. “One had a gun.”
DiStefano is seen trying to run away from the trio but is quickly cornered near an elevator. The attackers kept shouting at him, “Take it off! We’re going to shoot you!”
DiStefano refused to lose his watch, clutching it tightly in his fist as the assailants knocked him down and began beating him.
“The adrenaline hit and they were on top of me, kicking me, punching me, pistol-whipping me,” DiStefano said. “I’ve never had a gun pointed to my forehead so the only thing I was thinking of was, ‘This is it.’”
DiStefano, who is also an amateur boxer, was able to put his skills to use as he began fighting back against the assailants. He eventually freed himself and ran to safety inside a nearby business.
Empty-handed, the thieves were seen running back to their getaway car before speeding away.
The violent altercation left DiStefano with cuts and bruises on his head, but he said he escaped mostly uninjured.
“I don’t want to stop living my life because of these things but I’ll definitely be more cognizant of where I wear jewelry,” he said. “They’ll have to do a lot more than kick me and hit me to take me down.”
The victim’s 4-year-old dog, who was uninjured, was rescued by a passerby who witnessed the mugging take place. Reunited with his beloved dog, DiStefano said he is glad they are both unharmed.
Authorities are investigating the assault and said a Metro bus that pulled up behind the suspects’ sedan may have captured the vehicle’s license plate and closer footage of the thieves.
The three gunmen and the getaway driver all remain at large. Anyone with information on the assault can call the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station at 310-855-8850.