SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA / A news summary : The Local Review / DEVELOPMENTS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Chase of Robbery Suspects Ends Near LAX

LOS ANGELES —  Suspects in an armed robbery in Orange County led police on a freeway chase Thursday that ended near Los Angeles International Airport and forced the evacuation of the Marriott Hotel.

The incident began about 12:30 p.m. in Seal Beach, where police said three men entered the Rockwell Federal Credit Union on Seal Beach Boulevard and took an undisclosed amount of money. A fourth man waited in a getaway car, which investigators later determined had been reported stolen, said Seal Beach Police Sgt. Tim Olson.

The four robbers switched the car for a blue van, which they drove north on the San Diego Freeway with police in pursuit. As they approached the airport, they were caught in traffic, Olson said. Officers arrested two men as they tried to run, but the other two escaped on foot.

Late Thursday, police arrested a third suspect in the parking lot of the Marriott Hotel, from which guests and staff had been evacuated. The fourth suspect was still being sought in the vicinity of the hotel, Olson said.

It was the second robbery Thursday at an Orange County credit union. The first occurred just after 11 a.m. at the Postal Employees Credit Union on Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove. Two men announced that they were armed and ordered employees and customers to lie on the floor, Garden Grove Police Capt. David Abrecht said. One robber jumped the counter and took money, probably more than $1,000, Abrecht said. The two fled in a white, late-1980s Toyota minivan driven by a third person, he said.

Police say the two robberies were unrelated, and they were still searching late Thursday for suspects in the first case.