Video: Up to 50 smash-and-grab thieves ransack LA Nordstrom, steal $100K in merchandise during brazen heist



Video shows a mob of as many as 50 thieves ransacking a California Nordstrom store in the middle of the day on Saturday.

Around 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, as many as 50 smash-and-grab thieves pulled off a brazen flash mob robbery at the Nordstrom store in the Westfield Topanga Mall in the Canoga Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The swarm of robbers – dressed in all black wearing hoods and masks – snatched high-priced luxury bags and clothing. Some of the bags were still attached to display cases as thieves fled the store.

Customers and store employees looked on helplessly.

A witness told KABC, "I really didn't understand at first what was going on and then I recognized what was really happening when all the security ... everybody was going to the one area."

At least one security guard was doused in Mace pepper spray or bear spray during the robbery. The guard was treated on the scene by paramedics.

Police say the thieves ran out with the stolen goods and escaped the crime scene in multiple cars – including a BMW and a Lexus.

Investigators said the flash mob robbery stole up to $100,000 in merchandise.

The Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement, "To criminals, it is just property taken. To those who live in the area and patronize the Topanga Mall, it is a loss of feeling safe. The LAPD will exhaust all efforts to bring those responsible into custody and seek criminal prosecution."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) also issued a statement, "What happened today at the Nordstrom in the Topanga Mall is 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."

While no suspects have yet to be arrested, LAPD officers said they have several leads.

The same Nordstrom store was hit by smash-and-grab thieves armed with pepper spray in 2021.

KTLA reported, "Several suspects were arrested at the time, with ties to an organized crime spree involving other robberies that took place across the Southland."

On Tuesday afternoon, 30 robbers pulled off a heist at the Yves Saint Laurent store in Glendale, about 20 miles west of Saturday's robbery. Criminals stole about $300,000 in merchandise from that flash mob robbery.

Anyone with information on the flash mob robbery is encouraged to send an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.lacrimestoppers.org.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Video captures 'flash mob' of burglars swarming Nordstrom in Southern California mall www.youtube.com


Ghislaine Maxwell: The Trial the Media Does NOT Want You to See | The News & Why It Matters | Ep 914

Ghislaine Maxwell: The Trial the Media Does NOT Want You to See | The News & Why It Matters | Ep 914

Smash-and-grab in broad daylight caught on video — but victim isn't about to let robber get away with it



San Francisco resident Forrest Lanning was driving through Golden Gate Park on his way back from lunch Wednesday, KPIX-TV reported, when he caught an unusual sight ah

ead of him on the side of the road that led him to pull out his cellphone camera and start recording.

"I saw this guy at the car, and I thought he was just trying to open it, but then I saw him break the window, and then I'm like, 'He's doing one of those smash-and-grabs,'" Lanning told the station.

Image source: KPIX-TV video screenshot

Indeed, it was — but Lanning caught something else unexpected: The victim chased the robber across Martin Luther King Drive.

Video shows the robber starting off with a stolen suitcase and backpack:

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @rabidmarmot

But once he notices the victim is chasing him, the culprit drops the suitcase in the middle of the street. The victim then shoves the crook by a waiting getaway car and wrestles the backpack from him.

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @rabidmarmot

Now empty-handed, the robber gets into the passenger seat of the getaway car — but the incensed victim manages to whack the crook's passenger window with his reclaimed backpack before the car beats it.

Just witnessed this smash and grab in Golden Gate Park. Giving video to police, suspects are late 20s and early 30s… https://t.co/lsb7Rcmrwn
— Forrest Lanning (@Forrest Lanning)1614200634.0

Lanning also got a photo of the suspects' Chevy Impala — California license plate 5ZZN552 — and called police, KPIX said.

Turns out the victim and his family, including a toddler, were visiting from Seattle and had checked out of their hotel Wednesday morning, Lanning told the station.

"I've never seen it done in the neighborhoods; it's always Golden Gate Park because where they know there's tourists," he added to KPIX. "Something needs to be figured out because this is a really rampant problem."

How bad is it?

The station said city crime data shows that burglaries spiked 222%, robberies are up 74%, and car thefts increased 31% in the two districts that cover Golden Gate Park compared with the same period last year.

However, larceny thefts — which include smash-and-grabs and shoplifting — are down 44%, police told KPIX, noting the reason presumably is fewer tourists parking their cars in the city and many stores having been closed due to the pandemic.

One area resident told the station he frequently walks in the park and sees smashed glass on the ground from broken-into vehicles.