For some, it's tradition. For others, a way to get active before the evening's feast. But to all participants taking part in Father Joe's Villages annual Thanksgiving Day 5K, Deacon Jim Vargas is grateful. 

"Over 7,000 people are here," Vargas told NBC 7 as runners sped past him. "They weren’t frightened away by the weather or the threats of the rain, so it’s very important."

Participants were lined up early for the start of the 17th annual trot through Balboa Park on Thanksgiving morning, which raises funds for Father Joe's Villages' effort to provide services to homeless San Diegans. 

"We're there 365 days a year -- breakfast, lunch and dinner. Every single night we’re able to provide housing for over 2,000 people, so this helps tremendously today," Vargas said. 

Event organizers projected the 5K run and walk would raise a half-million dollars, which would go towards providing thousands a place to sleep and about 1 million meals, according to Father Joe's Villages.

Mariana Aguilar has participated in Father Joe's 5K with her sister for four years and while she looks at it as a way to get active before indulging on Thanksgiving dinner, she also believes in the cause it supports. 

"I had the pleasure to meet Father Joe before and I believe in a lot of the things that he does," Aguilar said. "I think that this is a great idea to support the community and also to get everybody out here and have some sense of comradery and community on this special day." 

Aguilar, like many others on Thanksgiving, is counting her blessings, like being able to gather with family and friends. 

"There’s a lot of things going on like the fires… This year, I think we’ll just go back to basics and be thankful for having everything that we need."

And while she was giving thanks to the little things in her life, Vargas was giving thanks to her and all the others that joined the annual charity run this Thanksgiving. 

"We’re all challenged in one way or another but we are blessed and this is a great way to show how grateful we are by giving back,” Vargas said. 

Vargas said Father Joe's Villages is in need of volunteers throughout the year. Anyone who wants to make monetary donations or find other ways to help can visit here. 

A masked man armed with a gun forced a woman to let him into her South San Diego Home where he proceeded to rob her Thursday, police said. 

The woman was returning from Tijuana to her Nestor home at about 5 a.m. Thursday when the man came up behind her and flashed a gun, the San Diego Police Department said. 

She complied and the two entered the home on Ilex Avenue, south of Grove Avenue and West of Hollister Street. 

The man's face was covered with a mask and he was wearing gloves as he grabbed several electronics from the home and shoved them into a backpack, SDPD said. He then took off on foot.

No further suspect description was provided by police. SDPD southern division will be investigating the case. 

No other information was available.

Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.

Though it’s the season of giving, some people out there still want to take.

And that’s why the National City Police Department is offering tips for those strapping on their helmets for the Super Bowl of shopping and the season beyond.

NCPD Sgt. Antonio Ybarra said it’s not a matter of if you get your property stolen, it’s when.

“People who are distracted can be an easy purse snatch or an easy robbery victim,” the sergeant said, adding that a lot of crime can be prevented with common sense.

One common sense tip: Don't take your money out until asked to do so. Also, park your car in a well-lit area and don’t leave shopping bags inside in plain view.

As for financial security, Sgt. Ybarra recommends taking only one credit card to do your shopping so that you don’t have multiple accounts impacted if a breach were to occur. He also says to save your receipts and monitor your credit card activity closely.

And if you’re shopping with children, choose a meetup location inside a store in case you get separated. It also helps to teach your kids how to identify and approach security or law enforcement personnel to ask for help if they’re lost.

And finally, Ybarra says, don’t argue or fight over an item. That’s never OK.

Happy shopping!

Governor Jerry Brown has shortened the sentence of a woman convicted of killing an actor in his San Diego apartment in 2005.

Amy Davis was sentenced to life without parole for her involvement in the 2005 murder of actor Theodore "Rocky" Salanti.

During a robbery, Davis bound Salanti with duct tape, suffocated him, and stuffed his body into a suitcase inside his apartment near Qualcomm Stadium.

An attorney for the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking said that Davis, who was working as a prostitute at the time, would never have participated in the crime if it weren’t for her victimization and exploitation at the hands of her pimp. A psychologist said that if it weren’t for the control Davis’ pimp had over her, Davis wouldn’t have been in a position where her fear and vulnerability could be used against her.

Davis’ pimp tortured her physically and sexually, according to the psychologist, and she believed he would kill her if she did not submit to his control.

The Board of Parole Hearings also investigated the case and found that Davis suffered from intimate partner battery at the time of the crime.

According to Governor Brown’s commute letter, Davis’ commitment to rehabilitation has been exemplary since her conviction. She has participated in many self-help programs, earned an Associate of Arts degree and has mentored other inmates as a substance abuse counselor.

Governor Brown has commuted Davis' life sentence to 20 years. After 20 years, Davis will be required to appear before a parole board which will determine if she is suitable for release.

Brown also pardoned or commuted the sentences of four other prisoners convicted in San Diego County.

With Black Friday sales beginning on Thanksgiving for many retailers, Walmart and Target are getting the ball rolling with a variety of new events that experts say are intended to draw online shoppers and seize upon the first holiday season without a beloved children's toy haven.

Walmart recently announced its first-ever “Light Up Black Friday” parties in stores at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Walmart also added 30 percent more toys to its brick-and-mortar locations.

The retail giant is hoping to make holiday shopping as convenient as possible for this generation of customers, writing in a press release that with its early sales, festive events and color-coded store maps, "it’s never been easier for customers to shop – and save – at Walmart on Black Friday.”

And Target vowed to organize in-store experiences around the newly added quarter-million square feet of space dedicated to toys across more than 500 stores, according to CNBC. The retailer also promised to host 25,000 hours of in-store events later in the year, with many events allowing children to play with new toys.

Target's executive vice president said that for customers with a top priority of "finding the perfect toy to wrap up and give their little loved ones this holiday, ... We want them to know that Target is here to help."

Both retailers are even deploying staff members throughout the stores to help shoppers beat long lines and check out the customers with mobile devices.

With the increased number of in-store holiday events, some experts say Walmart and Target are trying to combat the growing influence Amazon and other online retailers have over consumers. And playing an important role in their competition with online retailers is their new focus on toy sales during the first holiday season after the closure of Toys “R” Us.

Sridhar Balasubramanian, a professor of marketing and Roy and Alice H. Richards Bicentennial Distinguished Scholar at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, said the extensive marketing campaigns are in response to how much Black Friday shopping has changed due to the growing popularity of online retailers.

Crowds have traditionally flocked to stores on Black Friday, waiting in line for hours to get access to long-awaited holiday deals, Balasubramanian said. But Amazon, "the 800 lb. gorilla of the online market," Balasubramanian added, has made those deals available all the time.

“With online [shopping], you lose the sense of shopping at a particular time and at a particular place,” Balasubramanian said. “That convenience is something that traditional retailers have really struggled to recreate.”

In Deloitte’s “2018 Retail Holiday Survey,” 66 percent of customers said they would go shopping online versus 56 percent who said they’d shop in-store. Respondents ranked convenience, free-shipping and time saving as the top three reasons to shop online.

Katrijn Gielens, an associate professor of marketing and Sarah Graham Kenan Scholar at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, said online shopping has made it increasingly difficult to attract customers into stores. For example, it is easier to avoid the impulse buying of additional items while shopping online.

Gielens added that stores have had to turn to strategies like in-store events to court customers, and targeting toys allow the whole family to get involved in the shopping process.

“Once they’re inside the store you can tempt them with other things and that is the ultimate goal to a certain extent,” Gielens said. “If there’s one type of consumer that is easily tempted, it’s probably children. Ultimately, the parents will pay for it, but it’s also hard to say no to children.”

Balasubramanian said that because children have a different perspective of shopping than adults do and that the in-store experience is more meaningful to young children than online shopping is.

“With children, it is often a ritual to go to the store with their parents and have all the excitement around them — to touch, feel, experience the toys — and then to get something right then and there,” Balasubramanian said. “That makes it fun for the family.”

Balasubramanian said that Walmart and Target’s event-heavy, child-friendly marketing strategies also seem to be an “experiment” to see if they can capture Toys “R” Us’ former customers year-round and increase their presence in the toy market.

“I would certainly expect that some of the traffic from Toys 'R' Us is going to go definitely toward Walmart and Target,” Balasubramanian said. “But it’s not clear to me that given how shopping habits have been shifting that Walmart and Target are necessarily going to capture all of the Toys 'R' Us’ traditional customers.”

Balasubramanian noted that Toys “R” Us went out of business because its toy-only model could not compete with Amazon and other online retailers, who took over “a big chunk of that toy market.” Balasubramanian said, however, that because Walmart and Target’s offerings cover a wide range of categories, their current business “will remain robust” even if they can’t increase their toy sales.

Although Gielens thinks the events could bolster the number of in-store visits on Black Friday, she said “the jury is still out” on whether the strategy would be useful in the long-run. She warned that retailers should not market the events and toys to the point that consumers are distracted from looking through the rest of the store.

Gielens also noted that because these events promote products at lower prices, the stores’ profits might be affected. Gielens acknowledged that the retailers are being forced to take the risk to beat their competitors, but she advised that the companies should organize the events in such a way that they don’t lose money.

“Ultimately, what are [the stores] all trying to achieve: that they don’t lose market share and that they don’t lose their consumer to their competitors,” Gielens said. “But it can accommodate huge costs in that it’s simply not profitable.”

As one of his last acts in office Governor Jerry Brown granted a handful of pardons to ex-convicts across the state. A recipient of one of the pardons is a Vista veteran who was convicted of a “stupid” crime when he was just 18 years old.

Paul Clock was a teenager when he was convicted of burglary in 2004.

Clock’s story is that he was caught “Trying to take a bicycle, which was so stupid.”

He said his parents didn’t even want to bail him out.

“They said you made this poor choice, you're going to deal with it,” Clock said.

He served 180 days in jail and completed probation, then went on to serve in the U.S. Army. He made it through deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and Korea before he retired. Clock says he began the pardon process last fall and got the news just a few days before Thanksgiving.

Told by state officials that he “earned his pardon,’ Clock had the joy of sharing the life-changing news in front of his family at Thanksgiving dinner.

"On Thanksgiving, I'm getting a pardon which means I'm getting to be a normal human again,” he said.

Clock was one of 38 people to receive this notice from Governor Brown's office this week.

For anyone out there trying to put their past behind them, Clock offered this message.

"When you’re in that community, in that cycle of just, I'm hanging around the same guys that are doing the same bad stuff, you have to break free of that. I know it’s not easy, but you have to break free."

Brown pardoned or commuted the sentences of four other people in San Diego County, including Amy Davis who was convicted of killing an actor in his San Diego apartment in 2005.

Paramedics on their way to the hospital with a patient pulled over after witnessing a pedestrian get hit by a car Thursday evening in San Ysidro, then dropped off their patient and continued on to the hospital with the injured pedestrian.

Medics witnessed the crash on Camino De La Plaza near Willow Road at around 6:45 p.m.

The patient they had in their ambulance told them they no longer needed to go to the hospital, so they were released to make room.

The injured pedestrian was taken to UCSD Medical Center. Police said the pedestrian suffered head injuries that could be life-threatening.

The driver of the car stayed at the scene.

The intersection separates the western pedestrian crossing at the San Ysidro Port of Entry and Las Americas Premium Outlets, a popular shopping mall with regular customers from both sides of the border.

No other information was available.

Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.

A San Marcos couple has turned their Thanksgiving feast into an annual show of gratitude for local Marines.

For the past 20 years, Tweet and Rex Edmunds have been hosting two Marines at their home for Thanksgiving dinner. This year, a special guest from more than a decade ago returned to the couple’s table.

Thirteen years after his first encounter with the Edmunds, Staff Sergeant Will Bradley found himself back at the couple's table surrounded by the same love and warmth.

“I love the fact that we are reunited after 13 years,” Bradley said. “They have always been on the back of my mind.”

Like the two young Marines sitting next to him, he was once spending one of his first holidays away from home when he met the Edmunds.

“They actually came out, brought me here and hung out with me,” he said. They helped me out through that time.”

Tweet says the tradition started when they answered a newspaper ad two decades ago. They’ve enjoyed hosting a pair of Marines at their home ever since. One of the two Marines that joined them last year enjoyed their first Thanksgiving meal ever, Tweet said.

Also at the table Thursday were Private First Class Selena Jentz, another Marine, and a few of the Edmunds’ friends who have enjoyed celebrating America’s service members with them over the years.

“Rex and Tweet didn't have to do all this, but because they love our country and they love those who serve, they do bring us in,” Bradley said.

Still, the Edmunds wish they could do more.

“The Marines that were directing traffic, checking the ID, they asked, ‘Can you take any more?’ Which indicates not enough people are taking care of them,” Rex said.

Anyone interested in hosting Marines for Thanksgiving next year can contact the Armed Services YMCA in San Marcos.

Wind and rain arrived in Northern California this week, providing welcome relief to a region buffeted by the state's deadliest wildfire and then besieged for nearly two weeks by a dome of thick, noxious smoke, NBC News reported.

Forecasters expected 25 mph winds and rain to blow away the worst of the fallout by Friday. While that would improve air quality, the cleaner air does not mean that the health risks are over. Doctors in Berkeley said that they continued to see a slight uptick this week in emergency room visits, particularly from asthmatics, the elderly and children — groups most vulnerable to polluted air.

Longer-term impacts of such exposure, meanwhile, are little understood. Few studies have been conducted to track the health of people months, and years, after they have been exposed to high concentrations of “particulate” pollution. The emissions are similar to the toxic particles released with the burning of fossil fuels. But fire fumes could pose an additional risk, because they include chemicals released when homes and cars — and their attendant insulation, plastics and metals — burn.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, began last year to recognize how little was known about longer-term impacts of smoke from wildfires. So they launched studies into the impacts of the 2017 Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County and other giant wine country blazes that killed more than 40 people. Scientists are also trying to better understand exactly what is in the smoke that comes from fires in the so-called "wildland-urban interface." When cars and homes burn, along with trees, it means the release of chemicals that went into paint, plastics, insulation and metal.

Water rushed down the streets of an area in Hillcrest Friday morning, leading police to shut down traffic.

A water main break was reported at around 7:45 a.m. at 3rd and Pennsylvania avenues. The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said water was leaking through the pavement and quickly moving down the street.

Officers blocked off the area at 3rd, Pennsylvania and Robinson avenues and water crews were called to the scene to help control the water. 

There was no report of damage. The water main is located in a residential area away from businesses, so that part of the neighborhood was not impacted.

No other information was available.

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry was involved in a multi-car crash Friday right before 9 a.m. on Highway 24 in Oakland, according to the Oakland California Highway Patrol.

According to CHP, Curry was hit twice when a car spun out and hit him, and then another car rear-ended his black Porsche Panamera. His car was damaged, but Curry, wearing a black hoodie, appears to be doing alright. CHP said the rainy weather in the Bay Area may be to blame for the crash.

A source from the Warriors organization confirmed Curry was involved in a "minor accident" and that he "appears to be OK."

According to NBC Sports Bay Area, Curry arrived at shootaround shortly after the crash to receive treatment for his groin injury.

The two-time MVP is still recovering from a strained groin and has not played since Nov. 8. Curry is averaging 29.5 points and 6.1 assists per game this season.

Stay tuned for more updates on this breaking news story.

Steph is okay and he arrived at shootaround. https://t.co/WkAVKk6x9o

— Kerith Burke (@KerithBurke) November 23, 2018

Breaking: @warriors star @StephenCurry30 got into a car accident this AM along Hwy 24 in Oakland. The good news: he’s ok. The bad news: his Porche isn’t. Just spoke to his dad who is here too. Tells me Steph is doing fine. Curry is still recovering from a groin injury pic.twitter.com/m58eZqjKyD

— Melissa Colorado (@melissacolorado) November 23, 2018

With its sawtooth roofline and its big, multipaned windows, the old Consolidated aircraft factory looks like something from a black-and-white movie. The U.S. Navy, which owns it, thinks the 48.7 acres beneath it could go to a better use. The same goes for 21.8 acres nearby holding a warehouse and parking lot.

The Navy asserts that it needs a modern facility for its modern mission, which includes cyberwarfare and cybersecurity, providing defense electronics and furnishing all the information technology needed to run the sea service.

So it is collecting ideas from private developers on how to better use the land in San Diego’s Midway District known as Naval Base Point Loma Old Town Complex.

The Navy is open to commercial development on the 70.5-acre site — even retail or housing — provided that the Navy gets roughly 2 million square feet of new facilities to do its job. That new space does not necessarily have to be on the Old Town site; it can be nearby, on federal or private land. The government is even open to a land swap.

All ideas seem to be on the table. The Navy is encouraging respondents to be creative.

Ultimately, the Navy may accept a long-term lease similar to the 99-year lease signed with Manchester Financial Group at its shore facilities headquarters on 12 acres at the foot of Broadway in downtown San Diego. Manchester is building a $1.5 billion mixed-use project with several high-rise buildings including a Navy office building.

A public-private strategy in Old Town would give the Navy “something we couldn’t otherwise afford,” said Rear Adm. Yancey Lindsey, who oversees Navy’s shore bases in six Western states. Even though the Pentagon budget is growing, “we still are challenged in the shore environment,” Lindsey said.

The Navy’s Old Town plan sets the stage for major redevelopment of a gritty section of Point Loma, just as the city is getting ready to redevelop other parts of the neighborhood. The city wants to increase residential development in the Midway District and break up “superblocks” with new streets. Efforts to redevelop the Valley View Casino Center and the former Midway post office are under way.

“The synergy between their effort and our effort is ideal,” said Garth Nagel, project lead for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command.

As with anything, there are pros and cons to the opportunity. The sprawling site is a prime, urban location near rail and trolley systems, two freeways and a major airport. Then again, it is a retired factory. It contains hazardous materials such as lead paint, asbestos and residue from industrial processes such as metal plating. In other ways, the land is unencumbered. The 1940s-era buildings do not have historic status, the land contains no archeological sites (it is built on sediment dredged from San Diego Bay) and the property sits outside the Coastal Zone (with no need for California Coastal Commission review).

Despite the allure and ease of online shopping, many San Diegans woke up bright and early Friday to hit retailers across the county, in person, in search of Black Friday deals.

At Las Americas Premium Outlets on Camino de la Plaza, 20 minutes south of downtown San Diego and 20 minutes north of Tijuana, Mexico – shoppers arrived on Thanksgiving evening and early Friday as the shopping center opened at midnight.

Some locals were on the hunt for big bargains at name-brand stores like Michael Kors and Coach. Others were stocking up on essentials for the family. Some were simply browsing, looking to pick up smaller items here and there.

Friends Ian and Kent hit Las Americas around 5 a.m. Ian had planned to shop for clothing for himself, including maybe a coat or cardigans.

By 6 a.m., he had purchased two things: a Starbucks coffee and a pair of cozy, festive snowman socks. Kent followed suit.

“There was a sale going on for these amazing socks, so I had to jump on these immediately,” he told NBC 7, adding that the socks were only $1 per pair.

The friends agreed that, if they saw more good bargains they’d likely splurge on themselves and maybe buy a gift or two for someone else.

Another shopper told NBC 7 she was visiting the outlet mall with a very clear mission in mind.

“We have a list of items we want to buy so that we can manage our time wisely,” she told NBC 7. “I want to buy as many items as I can at discounted prices.”

That shopper said everything she had purchased, so far, had been for her husband. She had picked up two suits to wear to Christmas parties, work clothes and more – all at deep discounts between 60 and 70 percent off.

Sandy Sandoval and her daughter had started their shopping session at Las Americas at 5:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Twelve hours later, they were still searching for deals, mostly buying clothing for their family at stores like Aeropostale and Adidas.

Sandoval said they had taken a 2-hour break between stores to rest. The mom had also been able to snag a few things for herself.

“I got watches and sweaters, but I need new knees, because I’m tired,” she joked.

Concha Valladolid took more of a casual approach to her Black Friday shopping.

Valladolid had not planned on shopping but was about to go out for a run Friday morning when she decided she would walk around Las Americas instead and pick up a few things while exercising. She found some pajamas for her family and sneakers, and managed to save a little bit of money.

But, while some shoppers took to the stores in person to do their holiday shopping, others decided to buy their bargains online. According to one data analysis, consumers in the U.S. had spent $1.75 billion shopping online by 2 p.m. Thursday, up more than 28 percent from a year ago.

A San Diego man has decided to pass out checks to students and staff from Paradise High School in an effort to lift their spirits as they recover collectively from the ravaging Camp Fire.

The blaze has scorched more than 150,000 acres and all but decimated the entire Paradise community. As of Friday evening, it had taken 84 lives and was 95-percent contained.

Bob Wilson, 89, has been following coverage of the fire from his Rancho Santa Fe home since it sparked on Nov. 8. He heard horror stories from survivors who not only lost their homes and property, but their entire town.

When he thinks back on his years at Escondido High School, he reminisces about “idyllic” times -- idyllic times that Paradise High School students are missing out on.

Moved to do something to help heal their pain, Wilson decided to write $1,000 checks to the 980 students and 105 staff members the school.

“If I can just raise their spirits, I don’t want anything more than that. That would be compensation enough,” he said.

The money comes with no strings attached. Wilson doesn’t care what it’s spent on, he just hopes it brings them positivity during a disastrous time.

“I don't care. They can buy a bicycle if they want, have video games, I don't care. I just want them to have the freedom to this, and as I said, just lift their spirits. That's all I want out of this,” he said.

Wilson remembers the help he received when a fire broke out at one of the fish market restaurants he co-owns. People stepped up to help him even though he didn’t ask, almost as if it were human instinct.

He hopes his donation to the Paradise High community will inspire others to give, too.

“If you have a good intention to do something and you don't do it, it’s just a good intention. It doesn't go any further than that,” Wilson said. “So, I hope they go beyond saying, ‘Gee, I want to help out,’ and then not do something about it.”

Wilson plans to pass the checks out at the school on Tuesday.

Two men were injured Friday when the classic car they were in went off the roadway and into a drainage ditch, ejecting them from the cabin.

The owner of the 1920 Model T roadster, a 49-year-old man, was showing the car to a potential buyer, a 40-year-old man, when he crashed on Chateau Drive near Verley Court, police said.

Police said the owner lost control of the near-100-year-old car for unknown reasons. Drugs, alcohol or any other suspicious activity don't appear to be a factor in the crash, according to SDPD.

The driver suffered potential head trauma. SDPD did not specify the passenger's injuries but said they were less severe. Both were taken to the hospital.

The vintage car was not equipped with seatbelts. SDPD said cars made before 1964 are not required by law to have them.

No other information was available.

Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.

Lions, tigers, bears – and turkeys?

Animals at an Alpine sanctuary celebrated Thanksgiving like many across the country -- with a turkey dinner.

The special meal was part of the Thanksgiving Turkey Bash held Friday.

The entire turkeys were placed in strategic areas in each animal’s den so they were able to “hunt.”

“The animals love to search for their food. It gives them enrichment, and it keeps them from getting bored,” said Bobbi Brink, founder of the Lions, Tigers, and Bears sanctuary.

Many of the animals at the East County sanctuary were once used for movies or roadside exhibits.

“I love that they are rescuing the animals from the circuses and people that have smuggled them into their yards and they got too big,” Brink said. “People don't even know the exotic animal trade is second to weapons in our country.”

The sanctuary is the first time that many of the animals have so much space after being rescued.

Another holiday event to help them will be held on Dec. 1.

The Christmas Festival Fundraiser lets visitors watch lions, tigers, and bears open their presents.

The event will have a silent auction, raffles, food trucks, and even a special appearance by Santa.

Visitors can make donations to the Lions, Tigers, and Bears sanctuary during the holiday festivities.

“We always need to raise funds because running this place – we do it entirely on donations,” Brink said.

Donations can also be made on its website.

The sanctuary is open from Wednesdays to Saturdays.

Black Friday at a Verizon store in National City turned into a terrifying ordeal for both customers and employees when two masked men wielding guns ordered everyone to the back as they filled up bags with stolen phones.

The armed robbery happened just after 11 a.m. at a Verizon located at 3412 E. Plaza Boulevard, National City Police Department (NCPD) Sgt. Antonio Ybarra confirmed.

Witness Sam Abalos had gone to the store to buy a phone when, suddenly, two men with guns walked in. 

“I went to Verizon on Black Friday, just trying to get a phone, and this is not what I expected,” he said. “It was crazy.”

Abalos said the suspects – who were wearing ski masks – were aggressive and told every customer and employee to walk to the store’s back room.

“They said, ‘Everyone to the back!’ and they pointed guns at us,” Abalos recounted.

Once in the back room, Abalos said the suspects told everyone to get on their knees and put their faces on the ground. Abalos said the men didn’t want anyone to look at them.

With all of the witnesses in the back, the suspects began filling up bags with iPhones, according to Abalos. In addition to phones, Abalos said one of the suspects stole a gold chain from the neck of a store employee.

No one was hurt in the robbery but Abalos was understandably shaken.

“You don’t prepare for this moment, you know?” he said.

The suspects fled the store before police arrived.

Ybarra said the investigation is ongoing and, at this point, police aren’t sure if this is an isolated robbery or part of a string of similar incidents.

While some San Diegans were out shopping for presents, others were out looking for the perfect tree to set their gifts under.

If you went looking for the perfect Douglas fir in Coronado, you probably stepped foot in one of the most unique and picturesque tree lots in the country.

With the sound of the San Diego Bay waters crashing ashore under views of the Downtown San Diego skyline, Shanel Albert’s tree lot is truly one of a kind. The tree buying experience at Albert’s Coronado Tree Farm is so magical, it makes you wonder how this year it became the city’s first ever tree lot.

Locals might recognize Albert and her family. She also owns the Coronado Flower Lady, a flower stand on Orange Avenue. Her famous street-corner flower shop was recently destroyed by a drunk driver.

The bad luck knocked her out of business, but with a little sunshine and water it regrew and is now stronger than ever.

“Maybe that’s what led me to think of this,” she said of her lot. “We did it because we love Christmas.”

The San Diego Gulls hosted the Stockton Heat on Hockey Fights Cancer Night at The Nest and for the second straight game the Gulls saw their early lead dissolve late.

Giovanni Fiore got things going in the opening frame for the Gulls and after Stockton tied it at one, Corey Tropp put San Diego back on top towards the end of the first period.

The second period was chaotic. Tropp found the back of the net again to extend the Gulls lead to 3-1, but the Heat came back scoring two unanswered goals in the middle of the frame to tie it at three. Then Sam Steel got into a groove and netted two for the Gulls to give them a bit of breathing room and a 5-3 lead.

Then the third period came.

The Gulls gave up three unanswered goals in the final frame. Heat win it 6-5.

The same two teams face off Sunday in Stockton.