Gunfire from a handgun narrowly missed two people sitting in the front seat of a car as a bullet smashed through the passenger's window and lodged in the driver's door.

That bullet and several others were shot by one of the two men who allegedly attempted to rob a McDonald's employee outside the fast-food restaurant's Newbury Park location at 850 N. Wendy Drive very early the morning of April 21, police said.

"It's very uncommon for a weapon to be used in a robbery in Thousand Oaks. It's rare," said Detective Javier Chavez.

The employee was confronted with a gun when he arrived at work in the dark at 4:45 a.m. He struggled with two men before getting free and being aided by a person the police described as a good Samaritan who happened to be in the parking lot nearby. The wouldbe robbers fled on foot after the victim got into the good Samaritan's car.

The employee and the man who came to his aid decided to follow the men, who were crossing a street when they realized a car was tailing them, Chavez said. One of the men turned and fired several shots from a handgun toward the car, then in the middle of Wendy Drive. That's when one of the bullets came within inches of hitting the employee and the driver.

The two in the car then stopped following the men and used a cellphone to dial 911 and notify Ventura County Sheriff's Department.

The would-be robbers haven't been located. They were described as males between the ages of 18 and 25. Both were wearing hooded sweatshirts. One was dressed all in black with a black ski mask.

A bullet was recovered from the door frame of the victim's car. Detectives were canvassing the nearby residential neighborhood searching for witnesses. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call investigators at (805) 494-8201.

Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the robbers.

Call Crime Stoppers at (805) 494-TALK (8255).