Dozens of masked robbers were filmed destroying department store display cases and shelving during a wild smash-and-grab inside a Los Angeles shopping mall on Saturday afternoon.
As many as 50 men and women wearing face coverings and dark clothing ransacked the high-end Nordstrom store at Westfield Topanga Mall in Woodland Hills just after 4 p.m., the Los Angeles Police Department said.
A security guard who confronted the mob was hit with bear spray and was treated at the scene for injuries. Merchandise worth an estimated $60,000 to $100,000 was stolen, police said.
The robbers took off in several vehicles, including BMWs, a Lexus, Toyota-style vehicles and a Chevy Suburban. No arrests were made, police told JS Monday.
“The LAPD will exhaust all efforts to bring those responsible into custody and seek criminal prosecution,” the LAPD said in a statement.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was among those calling out the violence, which she said was “absolutely unacceptable.”
“Those who committed these acts and acts like it in neighboring areas must be held accountable,” Bass said in a statement. “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.”
Brandon Bell via Getty Images
The same Nordstrom store was ransacked by a similar mob in 2021. Around the same time, several other high-end stores in the area reported organized robberies.
Last week, a Yves Saint Laurent store in Glendale, roughly 22 miles east of the Nordstrom store, was robbed by a similar mass of people.
Video of that crime obtained by local station KTLA showed people wearing dark clothing and masks running into the Americana at Brand shopping complex, then escaping with what police said was about $300,000 in merchandise.
The Glendale shopping complex owner is offering a reward of up to $50,000 in the Aug. 8 robbery, police said.