Dozens of smash and grab robbers hit a Nordstrom in L.A. on Saturday

A screenshot of video posted by @noelskeez on X, formerly known as Twitter, shows masked robbers ransacking the department store in Topanga, Calif.

@noelskeez/Screenshot by NPR

The Los Angeles Police Department said a “mob of criminals” ransacked a Nordstrom department store in Topanga on Saturday, stealing as much as $100,000 worth of products in broad daylight. The smash and grab robbery is at least the third for Nordstrom in less than two years.

One of the videos from the robbery, shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, by Noel Escobar, shows masked individuals flooding through the Nordstrom storefront at the Westfield Topanga Mall, plowing through clothing racks and smashing display cases in a rush to grab whatever they could.

Police said in an online statement that the thieves made off with $60,000 and $100,000 in products, and though there are several leads, but for residents and mall shoppers, “it is a loss of feeling safe.”

KTLA reported that an estimated 20 to 50 robbers were involved, and that several suspects with ties to other organized crime robberies in the area were arrested. A security guard who tried to intervene was attacked with a chemical spray, and the store was evacuated when the robbery ended.

Another “flash mob” robbery took place in Los Angeles County just days before, at the Yves Saint Laurent store in Glendale on Aug. 8. The Glendale Police Department said in a statement last week that at least 30 suspects rushed into the store just before 5 p.m. and stole property valued at approximately $300,000.

“These ‘flash mob’ burglaries involve a large, coordinated group of individuals…