Source: Daily Mail
A looting gang has targeted an LA Nordstrom, making off with eight luxury handbags and assaulting a cop in the latest in a string of smash-and-grab raids which are plaguing California.
Five people, one wearing an orange wig, entered the open store in Canoga Park shortly before 7 pm on Wednesday and sprayed a security guard with ‘some kind of chemical’ in front of terrified shoppers, police said.
The thieves sped off and managed to escape despite multiple police cruisers, as well as fire trucks and ambulances, responding to the raid.
It is the eighth smash-and-grab raid in California the last week where thieves have made off with tens of thousands of dollars in luxury goods, amid soft misdemeanor theft laws in the Democrat-run state.
Around 20 robbers smashed their way into a Nordstrom at The Grove retail complex in LA on Monday night, making off with $5,000 worth of merchandise; and a CVS pharmacy in the city was struck just an hour later, where looters stole $8,000 from a cash register.
Law enforcement say that mercenary thieves are being recruited for up to $1,000 to steal the expensive goods which are then shipped across state lines and sold on the internet. The sophisticated method makes it harder for cops to track the criminals.
