This photo of the flash mob in Topanga was captured from a store video.
A flash mob robbed the Yves Saint Laurent store at the Americana at Brand in Glendale on August 8.
A CTN reader wrote: “As a new Yves Saint Laurent store gets ready to open in the Palisades, I hope what happened Tuesday afternoon at another YSL store in another Caruso mall does not happen here, or happen anywhere else.”
A video of the Glendale store showed multiple people in dark clothes, hoods and masks running into and then quickly out of the YSL store just before 5 p.m.
There were about 30 people involved and they stole about $300,000 in merchandise.
“These ‘flash mob’ burglaries involve a large, coordinated group of individuals simultaneously rushing into the store, overwhelming staff, and taking it over. The suspects grab as much merchandise as possible before fleeing in multiple vehicles,” the Glendale Police Department said in a statement.
Caruso, the company that owns the Americana, is offering a $50,000 reward for information.
“At Caruso, we stand firm in our commitment to the security of our guests, tenants, residents and employees,” a Caruso spokesperson said in a statement. “Our company’s top priority is to maintain a safe and family-friendly environment across all of our properties, and we will not tolerate any criminal activity.
“We are offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators who committed the theft of Saint Laurent at The Americana at Brand. If you have information, please reach out to the Glendale Police Department at (818) 548-4911 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477/lacrimestoppers.org.”
CNN reported that a mob of criminals had stolen up to $100,000 worth of merchandise from the Westfield Topanga Shopping Center in Los Angeles on Saturday, August 12.
The Los Angeles Police Department wrote on social media that “Today at around 4 p.m., a mob of criminals stole items from the Topanga Mall with an estimated loss of $60,000 to $100,000. Topanga Division officers were on the scene quickly and have several investigative leads.”
“Multiple individuals wearing black from head to toe could be seen ransacking a store at the mall, carrying duffel bags, purses and other items past the broken glass on the floor,” LAPD wrote.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement, “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.”
i don’t know what the solution is to prevent these crimes but two ideas are to vote in a new DA who is tough on crime (please!!) and to consider locking the entry doors to stores so the employees can monitor who they let in and who they don’t. It seems like it’s come to that for everyone’s safety, which is paramount
It would hardly be surprising if there isn’t a large- scale flash mob incident here at the Mall. It has already brought a number of other L.A. issues to the Palisades.