In the latest flash mob thefts to strike retailers in Los Angeles County, a nine-man robbery crew struck a Macy’s department store in Sherman Oaks, Calif. on Thursday afternoon.
The incident happened around 12:30 PM at Westfield Fashion Square. Nine masked men filled bags with stolen merchandise before running out of the store at 14000 Riverside Drive. All of the suspects wore hooded sweatshirts and dark-colored clothing.
The thieves fled the scene in two cars, described as a silver or gold Honda and a black Ford Fusion. No estimate was immediately available on the value of the stolen goods.
This latest robbery comes a day after a police task force announced 11 arrests in connection with a string of flash mob robberies that have plagued retailers in Southern California.
The task force is comprised of multiple Southern California law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department and the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the U.S. Marshals Apprehension Task Force and Federal Bureau of Investigation Apprehension Task Force.
Recent robberies include attacks at the Yves Saint Laurent at the Americana at Brand mall in Glendale, and a Nordstrom in Canoga Park. More than a half-million dollars in merchandise was taken in just those two thefts.
“What we’ve seen over just the past week in the City of Los Angeles and in surrounding regions is unacceptable, which is why today we are here announcing action,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement last week. “These are not victimless crimes — especially in the case where Angelenos were attacked — through force or fear– as they did their jobs or ran errands.”
Los Angeles City Councilman Bob Blumenfield has introduced a motion today seeking to establish a police substation at Westfield Topanga Shopping Center, prompted by a spike in organized retail thefts.