LA luxury mall latest to be hit by smash-and-grab thieves
ABC News
Los Angeles police say a group of thieves smashed windows at a department store at a luxury mall
LOS ANGELES -- A group of thieves smashed windows at a department store at a luxury mall in Los Angeles, triggering a police pursuit just days after high-end stores throughout the San Francisco Bay Area were targeted.
The latest incident in a national trend of smash-and-grab crimes targeted a Nordstrom store at The Grove retail and entertainment complex. It came as the country's largest consumer electronics chain said an increase in organized theft was taking a toll on its bottom line.
Workers covered a large broken window at the Nordstrom with black plywood Tuesday morning as security guards and shoppers alike came in and out of the store. Michel Moore, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, said the agency would beef up its visible patrols around high-end stores citywide beginning Tuesday night and into the Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend.
Crimes like these "have a profoundly greater impact on the sense of safety and security than simply the dollar loss of the merchandise,” Moore said.
