Another Smash and Grab Theft Nets Stash of Tools

LA police are on tactical alert
By Liz MacGahan,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 27, 2021 8:00 AM CST
Another Smash and Grab Theft Nets Stash of Tools
File photo of a a Home Depot logo sign.   (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

A group of people went into a Home Depot in California and came out with a pile of tools—without paying. The group, up to 10 people all apparently young adults or teens, grabbed hammers and crowbars, then ran out into at least one waiting car in Lakewood, a city in Los Angeles County. “They had the sledgehammers ready to hit people who were trying to stop them,” Home Depot employee Luis Romo told KTLA. There has been a rash of smash-and-grab robberies in Los Angeles and other big cities using tools like the ones taken Friday evening, CNN reports. Police deputies say the entire hammer section at the store was cleaned out, per FOX11.

Police are taking the robbery seriously, and are on tactical alert, the Los Angeles Times reports. Similar flash mob robberies include one at a Nordstrom at the Grove shopping center involving as many as 20 people, and other stores at Beverly Center. Witnesses say there may have been multiple cars helping the suspected thieves leave the Home Depot. Beverly Hills police say they arrested four people they suspect are involved in that crime. Three people have been arrested in connection with the thefts at the Nordstrom on Wednesday. (More crime stories.)

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