Three masked men armed with hammers stole $500,000 worth of gems from a California jewelry store and pepper-sprayed the terrified owner in another “smash and grab” robbery.
Sam Babikian, owner of Jewels on Lake in Pasadena, California, told local station KTLA that unidentified men entered around 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday and looted his store.
“As soon as I opened the door, pepper spray was sprayed in my eye, throat and mouth,” he told the television outlet.
“I could not see anything. So [all] I could hear they were smashing and grabbing.”
The team broke through the store’s thick glass and emerged with almost all of the jewelry, valued at about $500,000.
Babikian said she was finally able to press a hidden “panic button” that called police to the store.
He said that during the melee he thought: “I hope nobody pulls out a gun and shoots.”
The criminals took almost all the jewelry from the Babikian store in just three minutes.
“I feel confused,” Babikian told local television station NBC4.
The team broke through the store’s thick glass and emerged with almost all of the jewelry, valued at about $500,000. Facebook/Jewels on Lake
“I worked very hard for this, all my life… I’m worried about my safety. This is happening a lot. Hopefully, I’ll be the last. That is my prayer.”
Tuesday’s robbery was just another in a long line of “flash mobs” that terrorized shoppers and businesses throughout Southern California.
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Shocking video from Macy’s at Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks showed nine thieves, described as being in their early 20s, ransacking shelves in less than two minutes on August 24.
About two weeks before that, a brazen mob got away with thousands of dollars worth of items at a Nordstrom Rack in Riverside, California, which had already been hit by thieves once before.
Brazen thieves also looted a Nike store in East Los Angeles on August 13 and got away with trash bags full of merchandise.
A day earlier, another flash mob with more than 30 people attacked the Nordstroms at the Westfield Topanga shopping center and got away with more than $300,000 worth of merchandise.
“The suspects ran out of the store, ransacking shelves and display tables in the process,” Los Angeles Police Department officials said in a statement.
“The suspects were wearing ski masks and fled with high-end handbags, clothing and other easily resalable items.”
“A suspect, upon entering the store, sprayed bear spray on the face and body of the security guard at the store entrance.”
Earlier this month, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, along with LAPD officials, announced the formation of a task force with 22 full-time investigators focused on the recent wave of flash mob robberies.
The task force has made some arrests, including 11 people who were involved in the incident at Nordstrom’s Westfield Topanga shopping center.
“Many of these retail theft cases have been linked to other retail crimes that occurred in neighboring cities,” LAPD officials said.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn