Four men remain at large a day after committing a daring smash-and-grab robbery at a mall jewelry store in Woodland Hills.
Around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night, the masked men, one armed with a gun, stormed into the Ben Bridge jewelry store at the Westfield Topanga Mall and ordered employees and customers to the floor.
They escaped with nearly 30 high-end watches, but no one was hurt.
The store was back in business Thursday, and the higher-than-usual security staffing was visible.
"I saw cops with shotguns and ARs, you know heavy calibers," said shopper Sam Zadah. Witnesses said the scene was just something from a movie.
Wednesday night, a tracking device led LAPD to look for evidence along the 405 Freeway, where they located some discarded boxes, but not the missing merchandise.
Detectives are now working on surveillance images and video they hope will lead them to the robbers.
The robbery is the fourth mall jewelry store attack in the area in the last nine months, but investigators would not speculate if they could be connected in some way.
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Shoppers, though, said it’s becoming too common for their comfort.
Judith
Nussbaum/scared shopper
“When I heard about it, it was in Orange County,” said Judith Nussbaum. “Quite frightening for me. You never know where you are and what's gonna hit, so, now you tell me it's here in our neck of the woods.”
