Canoga Park, California’s Westfield Topanga Mall Nordstrom, was the site of the second major flash mob attack on a high-end retail business in as many weeks.
Fifty or more robbers invaded the Nordstrom store on Saturday. When security guards attempted to thwart their plans, the masked and hooded mob sprayed them with bear spray. Authorities have estimated the value of the stolen goods to be between $60,000 and $100,000.
This was the second brazen heist in Los Angeles County in as many weeks and was committed in broad daylight. A group had previously broken into the Yves Saint Laurent store in the Americana at Brand shopping center in Glendale, California. The thieves made off with nearly $300,000 in merchandise in as many as 20 getaway cars.
It was about 4 p.m. on a Saturday when the flash mob arrived at Westfield Topanga. The thieves smashed display cases, and mannequins were knocked down as they swarmed through the store like locusts.
The Nordstrom store was also robbed in November 2021. In that case, the thieves attacked a security guard with bear spray before making off with expensive purses.
There has been a rise in “flash robs” cases in Los Angeles County. In the most recent spate of burglaries, two separate criminal gangs struck a jewelry store in La Verne and a fine wines shop in Venice.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass made a statement Saturday night in response to the incident calling it “absolutely unacceptable.”
She said those responsible for these crimes and similar ones in the surrounding communities must be brought to justice. She said that the Los Angeles Police Department would not stop until the perpetrators were caught and the possibility of future assaults on stores was eliminated.
The words ring hollow as the escalation of these crimes coincide with leftist politicians and authorities who have gone soft on crime.
