Employee hospitalized after being sprayed during robbery at Cabazon outlet mall

An employee at a store inside the Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon was hospitalized after being sprayed with a chemical agent during a robbery Monday afternoon.

The robbery was reported just before 5:30 p.m. at a business in the 48600 block of Seminole Drive in Cabazon.

Deputies were told that three men entered the business and stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, a spokesperson for the Riverside County Sheriff's Office told News Channel 3.

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The agency said an employee of the store attempted to block the exit and was sprayed with a chemical agent by one of the suspects as they were fleeing.

The suspects were gone by the time deputies arrived, the spokesperson confirmed.

The employee was taken to the hospital to be treated for the effects of the spray.

The investigation remains ongoing.