Video captured a mob of thieves swarming a Nordstrom in Canoga Park as they cleared out the store during a destructive robbery on Saturday.
Chaos ensued as a large group of masked thieves clad in dark clothing scrambled around the store, grabbing armfuls of designer clothing, purses, accessories and more.
Los Angeles police received reports of the mass robbery at the Westfield Topanga mall around 4 p.m.
Police said anywhere between 20-50 suspects are believed to be involved, although the exact number has not been confirmed.
The thieves were seen violently grabbing whatever merchandise they could carry, with many seen ripping the security devices attached to designer purses and luggage items. Store shelves and display racks were destroyed, knocked over and littered across the floor along with a ton of fallen merchandise.
At one point, a security guard who tried to intervene was attacked with a chemical spray, police said. It’s unclear what that person’s condition is.
The suspects all fled in multiple getaway cars before officers could arrive. Guests were evacuated from the department store as officers cordoned off the scene during a busy Saturday.
The estimated dollar amount of stolen merchandise is not yet known.
Citizen video later showed store employees sweeping up broken glass from the floor and clearing the mess and debris strewn everywhere. Details on how the smash-and-grab robbery was coordinated remain under investigation.
Not sure why you are getting downvoted.
What’s worse is when there are no stores in that area, the organized crime will expand to other areas.
Because there are some kooks on Lemmy that have this attitude that “well the company is just going to use insurance to pay for those items, so it’s barely even considered theft if you take from a big company”.
Mix that in with anti-work and anti-corporation sentiment and they could probably justify this shit.
I’ve always been pretty anti-coporation but I don’t steal or makes excuses for thieves, I just don’t spend my money there.
And I’d totally agree with you as much as is realistic. Sure, trying to get some 20% off coupon or some clearance deal and sticking it to the man that way is one thing… literal theft is scummy.