Three in Custody After Smash-and-Grab Theft at Nordstrom at The Grove in L.A.

Three individuals are currently in custody following a smash-and-grab theft that occurred around 10:40 p.m. on Monday night at a Nordstrom located inside The Grove shopping complex in Los Angeles, according to Officer Drake Madison, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department.

“An unknown amount of suspects smashed and grabbed property from the Nordstrom at The Grove,” Madison told WWD. “Suspects fled in an unknown type of an SUV, and there was a pursuit that was initiated by our Wilshire division officers that were in the area. The pursuit ultimately ended up in South L.A. Foot pursuit was initiated, and the perimeter was set up.”

At least 20 people were involved in a burglary, according to KCAL/KCBS, and a sledgehammer was used to smash the storefront. On Citizen, the mobile app that sends users safety alerts in real time, one notification noted “15-20” had “smashed the window on 3rd using a rental bike then grabbed what they could and sped off.” The incident occurred in the 6200 block of West 3rd Street.

“Late Monday night, a group of individuals entered our store location at the Grove in Los Angeles and began stealing merchandise,” a Nordstrom spokesperson told WWD in a statement. “Thankfully, no customers were in the store at the time of the incident and our employees are safe, uninjured and accounted for. We are working with the Los Angeles police department in their ongoing investigation of the incident. The safety of our employees and customers is always our top priority, and it’s important to us that we create a store environment where everyone feels safe and welcome. This includes positioning security personnel inside and outside of our stores and working closely with mall security and law enforcement to anticipate and minimize risk. We also have enhanced training and protocols designed to ensure all our teams feel prepared to respond in the event of a safety incident. Given recent incidents at two of our stores and incidents across the industry, we’re heightening our in-store security presence and implementing additional protective measures to keep everyone safe.”

There have been a series of smash-and-grab burglaries in L.A., as well as the Bay Area and Chicago. Nordstrom was again the target on Saturday in Walnut Creek, Calif., a suburb about 25 miles east of San Francisco. An eyewitness, the manager of a nearby restaurant, told ABC News that 50 to 80 people had been involved.

On Sunday, a Louis Vuitton store in San Francisco’s Union Square — a city that has experienced a string of burglaries lately — was smashed and robbed just after 8 p.m. Many of luxury stores around the shopping area had their front windows boarded up on Monday, and there was a visible police presence on surrounding streets, just as the holiday shopping season is ready to kick off Nov. 26 with the lighting of the Macy’s Christmas Tree. The incidents have been leading local news coverage.

Meanwhile in Chicago, a Neiman Marcus store was ransacked by a group of thieves who then fled in vehicles, reported local outlets.

In L.A. on Saturday, there were smash-and-grab attempts at Louis Vuitton and Saks Fifth Avenue stores on North Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Boulevard, respectively. The break-ins were unsuccessful, however, according to the LAPD.

“Our businesses have been prepared since the May riots a year and a half ago,” Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive officer Todd Johnson told NBC following the events. “Most have glass that’s darn near impossible to break.”

Calling the thefts “unacceptable,” Gov. Gavin Newsom addressed the matter at a vaccine clinic in San Francisco on Monday.

“On July 21, we re-established our retail theft task force,” Newsom said. “We put millions of dollars in the budget to develop stronger partnerships with cities and counties to address organized retail theft. We’ve had over 773 investigations, hundreds of arrests, close to $20 million of stolen items that have been returned as a consequence of these efforts.”

Moving forward, the state will have more highway patrol presence in highly trafficked areas as Black Friday approaches, he added: “We are going to be more aggressive still in this space to help support cities and the prosecution of folks. Look, I have no empathy, no sympathy whatsoever.”