Eleven suspects allegedly stole more than $100,000 in handbags Monday from an open Louis Vuitton store at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California, according to the city’s press release.
A witness called Palo Alto’s 24-hour dispatch center at about 5:30 p.m. and reported that a large group of suspects — described as black males and females in their late teens or early twenties — shoplifted from the luxury store, the press release stated. (RELATED: REPORT: Police Officer Bought Christmas Dinner For Woman’s Family After She Was Caught Shoplifting)
Two men wearing masks walk by a closed Louis Vuitton store in Frankfurt. Photo by Armando Babani. Getty.
By the time officers arrived at the scene, the suspects had fled in five vehicles, including a gray Lexus sedan, a gray Infinity SUV, a white Audi sedan, a black four-door Hyundai sedan, and a red two-door Honda sedan. 36 handbags worth $100,000 had been stolen, according to the press release.
A similar incident occurred at a Palo Alto Neiman Marcus store on May 19, but the vehicles different from this latest incident.
Shoplifting in San Francisco has significantly risen, The New York Times reported. At a San Francisco Board of Supervisors hearing in May, representatives from Walgreens said that shoplifting at their stores is four times higher than the national chain’s average, according to The New York Times.
Ahsha Safaí, a member of the board, told the outlet that at 24th and Mission streets, “Half of Walgreens was on the sidewalk. I’m not kidding.”
Walgreens has closed 17 of its stores in the Bay Area due to increased theft, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.