Video captures SHOPPERS trying to stop brazen thieves from looting swanky New York Louis Vuitton store while mall security look on and do NOTHING

• Video shows brazen thieves stealing high-end purses from a Louis Vuitton store in Westchester, New York 
• People inside the store are seen attempting to stop the two thieves 
• A mall security guard is seen on video watching the theft, but never steps in  
• The mall was also the site of another theft at Burberry, according to video posted to Twitter by former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino 
• There have been no arrests in either theft and both are being investigated  
• City officials tweeted the video, pointing out that the ‘no cash bail’ policies of Gov. Kathy Hochul have made communities all across NY ‘less safe’

Disturbing video captured shoppers at a Louis Vuitton store in the New York suburbs try to prevent a crew of thieves from ransacking the luxury retailer for the second time in less than a month – only for the brazen bandits to escape when mall security guards sat back and watched.

In the video, the suspects are seen fleeing the store at the Westchester Mall in White Plains, as other people nearby attempted to stop them. But as the chaotic scene unfolds, an apparent mall security guard hangs back and watches, but does nothing.  

This is the second time in recent weeks that thefts at high-end stores have been carried out at the mall just north of New York City, after robbers targeted a Burberry store.

During the Louis Vuitton store theft, which White Plains police say happened last month, one man is seen running from the store, stolen purses in hand. 

The other suspect was almost stopped by other people in the store, but managed to escape with stolen purses, right past the security guard.    

During the Louis Vuitton store theft, which White Plains police say happened last month, one man is seen running from the store, stolen purses in hand

As the chaotic scene unfolds, an apparent mall security guard hangs back and watches, but does nothing as the thieves sprint from the store with the stolen merchandise 

The other suspect was almost stopped by other people in the store, but managed to escape with stolen purses, right past the security guard

The theft at Louis Vuitton is the second time in recent weeks that thefts at high-end stores have been carried out at the Westchester Mall in White Plains, New York, with the other being grand larceny at the Burberry store

The video began circulating Friday after it was posted to TikTok by user mcloud.9 – and now Republicans are blasting Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s revolving-door no-bail system. 

GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino tweeted about the robbery on Friday, accompanied by the video. 

‘The pro-criminal policies of @GovKathyHochul (ie. No cash bail) have made communities all across NY less safe. This brazen robbery of a @LouisVuitton occurred at my local mall @TheWestchester in White Plains.’  

In a response to the video, a spokesperson for the Westchester mall told the New York Post: ‘The crime depicted in this video is unacceptable and we are fully cooperating with the White Plains Police Department in their investigation.’  

‘We have taken a number of additional steps to further enhance the security program at The Westchester, including adding White Plains police officers to patrol the property, increasing additional private security patrol, deploying specially trained K-9 patrols, among other measures.’ 

Astorino posted another video on Saturday from the same mall showing a separate theft incident at a Burberry store.

‘Same @TheWestchester mall, different day, different men. This time @Burberry was hit. Crime doesn’t just happen ‘in the city’ or ‘somewhere else.’ It’s getting worse everywhere in NY and everyone is affected when criminals are emboldened by soft-on-crime laws.’

The Westchester Mall in White Plains, New York

The White Plains police department said it is aware of both incidents and investigating, according to a statement posted to Facebook on Saturday.   

They confirmed no weapons were used in either incident and no one was injured.

‘We take these incidents and the greater public safety concerns seriously,’ the post read. ‘We continuously work and collaborate with the property management and security as well as individual stores to assist in crime prevention and security inside and outside the mall.’ 

The brazen thefts are just the latest in a string of smash-and-grabs reported at a multitude of high-end retail stores across the nation, most notably in California. 

Many people have blamed the thefts on soft-on-crime prosecutors and recent law changes, such as New York lawmakers passing sweeping changes to the state’s bail laws in 2019 that restricted crimes where judges can set bail. 

A Burberry store on Chicago’s famed Magnificent Mile has been repeatedly targeted by smash-and-grab robbers in recent weeks.

A purported makeshift barricade, made up of an SUV and a pickup truck blocking the door at 633 North Michigan Avenue after hours, first appeared earlier this week, CBS Chicago reported.

The same store has been ransacked by criminals three times since late November, including twice during the first week of 2022.

The Burberry store on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago appears to have created a makeshift barricade made up of two vehicles parked in front of its entrance to thwart would-be thieves

It comes after the luxury store has been repeatedly targeted by thieves, most recently on January 6

The Second City’s busy shopping district around the area of North Michigan Avenue has become the epicenter of smash-and-grab robberies, with roving bands of youths swarming luxury stores, grabbing merchandise and fleeing. 

Burberry is not the only business in Chicago to have been robbed by reportedly organized smash-and-grab gangs.

In November, more than a dozen people rushed into a Louis Vuitton store in the Chicago suburb of Oakbrook and stole $120,000 worth of items, which they were seen on surveillance video hauling away in garbage bags. 

In December, a pair of thieves entered Gold Coast Auto Gallery, smashed display cases and made out with a $1million worth of high-end watches.

Days later, police said a 16-year-old girl robbed the Niketown and Zara stores on North Michigan Avenue and used a Taser on a security guard. She was later arrested.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in September that large-scale store thefts orchestrated by organized crime rings are costing retailers across the US an estimated $45billion in annual losses.

Raoul has formed the Organized Retail Crime Task Force comprised of public and private entities to tackle the problem head on.

‘These brazen, violent crimes are committed by sophisticated criminal organizations that are involved in drug trafficking, human trafficking and other serious crimes,’ Raoul said at the time.

Robbery and theft rates are up 51 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively, in Chicago

Source: Read Full Article