Update: In the week or so before Thanksgiving, police say there were about 11 smash-and-grab store robberies, some done by flash-mob style groups of people, in the Los Angeles area. In a press conference Thursday, LA police chief Michael Moore and Mayor Eric Garcetti say police have arrested 14 people in connection with the thefts, The Hill reports. Some of the people arrested were caught after a high-speed car chase, with the items still in the car. At least one of the suspects arrested is under 18, ABC7 reports. Our original story from Nov. 27 follows.
A group of people went into a Home Depot in California and came out with a pile of tools—without paying. The group, up to 10 people all apparently young adults or teens, grabbed hammers and crowbars, then ran out into at least one waiting car in Lakewood, a city in Los Angeles County. “They had the sledgehammers ready to hit people who were trying to stop them,” Home Depot employee Luis Romo told KTLA. There has been a rash of smash-and-grab robberies in Los Angeles and other big cities using tools like the ones taken Friday evening, CNN reports. Police deputies say the entire hammer section at the store was cleaned out, per FOX11.
Police are taking the robbery seriously, and are on tactical alert, the Los Angeles Times reports. Similar flash mob robberies include one at a Nordstrom at the Grove shopping center and other stores at Beverly Center. Witnesses say there may have been multiple cars helping the suspected thieves leave the Home Depot. Beverly Hills police say they arrested four people they suspect are involved in that crime. Three people have been arrested in connection with the thefts at the Nordstrom on Wednesday. (More smash-and-grab stories.)
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