A Silicon Valley branch of the high-end athletic apparel shop Lululemon became the latest Bay Area store to be ransacked by thieves working in unison. The shop in Santana Row was hit at around 6:30 p.m. Sunday when a group entered and quickly started grabbing merchandise off the shelves and running out within minutes.
The Lululemon heist in San Jose follows a similar attack on a Nordstrom in nearby Walnut Creek on Saturday, when as many as 80 people pulled up in around 25 cars and ransacked the upscale retail giant in an operation that took less than one minute. Three suspects, who were apparently left behind, were apprehended. Walnut Creek Police tweeted a warning that the group would likely strike again.
On Friday, a similar incident took place in San Francisco’s posh Union Square, where a gang of thieves first smashed up an expensive car and then ransacked a Louis Vuitton store. Eight people were arrested after the attack, including one person who was armed, according to a press release from the San Francisco Police Department. “We will flood this area with police officers for the foreseeable future,” Mayor London Breed said Saturday.
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Police have not said whether they believe the incidents are related or copycat crimes, but they have warned retail outlets to be aware of large groups entering at the same time, especially ahead of Black Friday, the busiest and sometimes most chaotic shopping day of the year.
Some stores in the Bay Area have beefed up security and police have added extra patrols in Walnut Creek and around San Francisco’s Union Square.
