DailyMail
Five people entered the open store and sprayed security guard with a chemical
They grabbed eight handbags before speeding off, police said Wednesday night
They escaped despite multiple cop cars responding, fire trucks and ambulances
It comes after a spate of robberies targeting high-end stores in California
A looting gang have targeted an LA Nordstrom, making off with eight luxury handbags and assaulting a cop – the latest in a string of smash-and-grab raids to plague California. Five people, one wearing an orange wig, entered the open store in Canoga Park shortly before 7pm 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 with thousands of dollars worth of handbags despite multiple police cruisers, as well as fire trucks and ambulances, responding to the raid. It is the eighth smash-and-grab robbery in California in 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.
