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.
I’ll admit I’m not too familiar with crime, but I can’t see them getting anywhere near face value for any of these things. And I wouldn’t want to go down for larceny in the amount thousands + violent robbery + potential culpability regarding the harmed security guard.
I rescind the comment if it really is that easy to sell high value stolen items. Just assumed pawn shops would be suspicious, eBay would have too large a paper trail, and selling them individually is difficult and time consuming.
You really really don’t need a business to fence things in 2023. It’s also safe to assume that a group that can coordinate a robbery like this one likely has put the effort in to coordinate where the loot is going.
Yeah fair I hadn’t thought that far into it and would make a pretty poor criminal. I was also mentally framing it as a need-to-eat situation where I presume most don’t have the resources to coordinate the loot sale. But organized crime does need to eat too.