VIDEO: 'Flash mob' of thieves ransack Los Angeles Nordstrom, steal up to $100,000

A “flash mob” of around thieves ransacked a Los Angeles Nordstrom department store on Saturday afternoon, stealing more than $100,000 worth of merchandise. 

Around 50 individuals wearing all black and masks began stealing from Nordstrom at the Westfield Topanga Shopping Center at around 4 p.m., authorities said. 

Videos of the incident posted on social media by the LAPD show the thieves smashing display cases and carrying away luxury goods through the broken glass on the floor as alarms throughout the store go off. 

“Today at around 4 p.m., a mob of criminals stole items from the Topanga Mall with an estimated loss of $60,000 to $100,000,” the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said on social media. “Topanga Division officers were on the scene quickly and have several investigative leads. To criminals, it is just property taken.”

The LAPD said it would “exhaust all efforts to bring those responsible into custody and seek criminal prosecution.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the incident “absolutely unacceptable” in a statement issued on Saturday.  

“Those who committed these acts and acts like it in neighboring areas must be held accountable,” Bass said. “The Los Angeles Police Department will continue to work to not only find those responsible for this incident but to prevent these attacks on retailers from happening in the future.”

The robbery is the most recent of its kind to take place in the city. On Tuesday at around 5 p.m., a similar scheme played out in Glendale, when a “bold, flash mob burglary” took place at a Yves Saint Laurent store. The thieves stole an estimated $300,000 worth of merchandise. 

“These ‘flash mob’ burglaries involve a large, coordinated group of individuals simultaneously rushing into the store, overwhelming staff, and taking it over. The suspects grab as much merchandise as possible before fleeing in multiple vehicles,” the Glendale Police Department said in a statement.

It remains unclear if both robberies were carried out by the same group of individuals.