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Bay Area Nordstrom Ransacked by 'Flash Mob' Looters in Brazen Hit

Spencer Brown
Spencer Brown  |  November 22, 2021 1:20 PM

A Bay Area Nordstrom store in Walnut Creek, California was looted in a brazen smash and grab robbery over the weekend in a continuation of the area's lawlessness that's escalated from CVS shoplifting to apparently coordinated hits like the one on Saturday night. 

More than one dozen cars blocked the street while around 80 individuals — some wearing ski masks and wielding crowbars — ran into the store, smashed cases and grabbed loads of merchandise, then returned to their idling vehicles and fled. 

According to the local CBS affiliate, "Police began receiving calls from Nordstrom employees about the looting at around 9 p.m." on Saturday. Employees reported that "there were approximately 80 individuals who ran into the store and began looting and smashing shelves."

A handful of employees working at the Nordstrom were injured when they were assaulted and pepper sprayed by the looters in the attack that lasted little more than one minute. 

According to authorities, "an 18-year-old Oakland man and two people from San Francisco, ages 30 and 32, were taken into custody. Police also seized a gun from one of the suspects." 

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With so many looters getting away and there being a continued uptick in theft, authorities in the Bay Area warned businesses and residents to be prepared for more mob smash and grab attacks as the busy holiday shopping season continues.

As Townhall has reported previously, brazen shoplifting in and around San Francisco has caused businesses to change their operations already in an attempt to protect themselves even when city officials will not. Even in just the last weekend, as a Bay Area reported highlighted, the Nordstrom hit wasn't the only instance of theft going mostly unpunished in the last few days:

Julio previously covered one of many situations in which "shocking video of a shoplifter taking armfuls of products in a San Francisco Walgreens and getting away with the merchandise while encountering little resistance" in June.

Landon reported on how Walgreens began shuttering locations in the Bay Area because of the losses due to shoplifting, and Rebecca explained here what Target stores were doing to try and limit their exposure to theft by limiting their hours of operation.