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‘Flash mob’ robberies roiling U.S. retailers, traumatizing workers

Experts say the brazen crimes, which can involve dozens of thieves carrying weapons and breaking glass, are likely being coordinated on social media apps

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December 3, 2021 at 7:00 a.m. EST
A security guard keeps watch outside The Real Real store, which has had its windows boarded, on Nov. 30 near Union Square in San Francisco. Retailers have increased security in response to a spike in thefts. (Ethan Swope/Getty Images)
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A spate of brazen store heists, in which organized mobs have hit stores as varied as Nordstrom, Best Buy, Louis Vuitton and Home Depot, has shaken the retail industry and created fresh challenges for law enforcement.

While large-scale “smash-and-grabs” have been on the rise this year, experts say they hit critical mass in late November, when stores were piled high with holiday inventory. On Black Friday alone, a crew of eight made off with $400 worth of sledgehammers, crowbars and hammers from a Home Depot in Lakewood, Calif.; a group ransacked a Bottega Veneta boutique in Los Angeles; and roughly 30 people swarmed a Best Buy near Minneapolis, grabbing electronics.