CHICAGO, IL – Thieves in Chicago were caught on camera earlier in October brazenly pilfering thousands of dollars worth of luxury purses [1] inside a boutique. Authorities released the surveillance footage that captured the robbery in an effort to help identify the two suspects involved.
Shoplifters raid #Chicago [2] boutique in broad daylight, steal tens of thousands in luxury purses https://t.co/k9Nzf7h4Eq [3] #FoxNews [4]@TheDemocrats [5]
— Joseph Clark (@JosephC64436486) October 24, 2021 [6]
The incident occurred on October 11th at approximately 2:54 p.m. at a Bottega Veneta location within the 800 block of North Michigan Avenue.
Footage from the incident shows a store employee walking through the showroom of the purses while looking down at her phone, while a suspect in a red hoodie walks briskly past her to open the door to allow another suspect into the showroom as well.
The second suspect, wearing a dark-colored hoodie, comes running into the boutique along with the suspect in the red hoodie, and the two begin snatching a myriad of purses from display cases and shelves.
Roughly ten seconds elapsed between the two suspects storming in to steal the goods and fleeing the location.
The occurrence in October is far from unique.
On September 20th, the business was previously targeted by a larger band of miscreants. An employee permitted one individual inside the store, enabling 11 other suspects to rush in behind him. According to CWBChicago [7], the 12 suspects took roughly 35 purses, each worth thousands of dollars apiece.
Shoplifting has even spread to Chicago’s suburbs in recent weeks, with surveillance footage from earlier in October showcasing seven to eight suspects snatching a myriad of handbags from a Bloomingdale’s location.
First Norridge, now Skokie. https://t.co/e4WxmUZLYS [8] pic.twitter.com/Me19pO2kmt [9]
— 16th & 17th District Chicago Police Scanner (@CPD1617Scanner) October 5, 2021 [10]
A Louis Vuitton location was also hit by a sort of flash mob of thieves. In October, the video captured outside of the Northbrook Court location showed roughly eight suspects running out of the store with their hands filled with pricey handbags.
Express checkout at the Louis Vuitton in the Northbrook Court on the North Shore of Chicago. $LVMH [11] pic.twitter.com/R1HYNDbllB [12]
— Nicole Sherrod 📈 (@NicSherrod) October 6, 2021 [13]
The level of brazenness regarding retail theft in Chicago was also put on full display at an Ulta Beauty store near Chicago’s 16th District in late September – where a customer captured video of two suspects loading up garbage bags with merchandise and appearing to be unmoved by the presence of customers and being filmed.
Sent by a follower.
This was at the Ulta in Norridge at 4115 N Harlem near the 16th district in #Chicago [2] pic.twitter.com/Ab59s9N2lA [14]
— 16th & 17th District Chicago Police Scanner (@CPD1617Scanner) September 27, 2021 [15]
It’s unclear whether authorities suspect that these string of retail thefts, with the purse thefts, in particular, are at all connected or are merely coincidental.
This piece was written by Gregory Hoyt on October 24, 2021. It originally appeared in RedVoiceMedia.com [16] and is used by permission.