Fallout from MLK, "A 'mob of black criminals' stole more than $300, 000 worth of goods from an LA Nordstrom"

The Los Angeles Police Department said a "mob of criminals" 
ransacked a Nordstrom department store in Topanga on Saturday, 
stealing more than $300,000 worth of products in broad daylight. 
The smash and grab robbery is at least the third for a 
California Nordstrom in less than two years.

One of the videos from the robbery, shared on X, formerly known 
as Twitter, by Noel Escobar, shows masked individuals flooding 
through the Nordstrom storefront at the Westfield Topanga Mall, 
plowing through clothing racks and smashing display cases in a 
rush to grab whatever they could.

Police said on Monday that the thieves made off with more than 
$300,000 in "high-end handbags, clothing, and other easily re-
sellable items," revising earlier estimates of the value of 
stolen goods. For residents and mall shoppers, "it is a loss of 
feeling safe," the LAPD said.

More than 30 robbers were involved and one suspect sprayed bear 
spray on the face and body of a security guard at the store's 
entrance, police said.

KTLA reported that several suspects with ties to other organized 
crime robberies in the area were arrested. The store was 
evacuated when the robbery ended.

Another "flash mob" robbery took place in Los Angeles County 
just days before, at the Yves Saint Laurent store in Glendale on 
Aug. 8. The Glendale Police Department said in a statement last 
week that at least 30 suspects rushed into the store just before 
5 p.m. and stole property valued at approximately $300,000.

"These 'flash mob' burglaries involve a large, coordinated group 
of individuals simultaneously rushing into the store, 
overwhelming staff and taking it over," Glendale Police said. 
"The suspects grab as much merchandise as possible before 
fleeing in multiple vehicles."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called Saturday's incident 
"absolutely unacceptable."

"Those who committed these acts and acts like it in neighboring 
areas must be held accountable. The Los Angeles Police 
Department will continue to work to not only find those 
responsible for this incident but to prevent these attacks on 
retailers from happening in the future."

Saturday's robbery was the third Nordstrom heist in California 
in less than two years.

On Nov. 20, 2021, some 80 people conducted a nearly identical 
robbery in Walnut Creek, just outside of San Francisco. Like in 
the recent attack in Topanga, the Walnut Creek robbers utilized 
a chemical spray, using it on one of the store employees. Police 
arrested three suspects outside the store at gunpoint, NPR 
reported at the time.

And two days later, 18 to 20 people broke into a Nordstrom store 
at the Grove, a high-end shopping center in Los Angeles, 
stealing $5,000 of merchandise, the Los Angeles Times reported. 
Three suspects were arrested within a handful of hours with some 
of the stolen products in their car.

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/14/1193726286/smash-and-grab-mob-
criminals-nordstrom-los-angeles-california