Written by By Sonia Purnell, CNN
Close to a dozen luxury stores across California were broken into on Friday and Saturday nights, breaking into locked doors and in some cases, even breaking glass displays, according to authorities.
The rash of burglaries — including two in Los Angeles, one in San Francisco and the theft of five Vuitton handbags from Nordstrom — began shortly after 9 p.m. Friday in Santa Monica and continued into Saturday in other cities.
“These events will be investigated as a series of isolated incidents involving a few suspects attempting to enter multiple establishments throughout the weekend,” the Santa Monica Police Department said in a statement late Saturday. “We have multiple suspects, and additional possible burglaries are being investigated by our detectives.”
Detectives are working to obtain surveillance images from local businesses and are reviewing surveillance footage from other parts of the state, the statement added.
Although the Santa Monica attack prompted the police department to alert all businesses in the city of the break-ins, authorities have not yet announced any arrests.
The Santa Monica burglary “was well planned and executed,” the Santa Monica Police Department said in a statement. “The planning and coordination of this complex crime was superb. The suspect(s) used a maneuver to gain access to the store and made quick work of the safe.”
The Santa Monica burglary happened Saturday evening at the Nordstrom in the Cresson neighborhood, according to CNN affiliate KABC. The department tweeted Saturday night: “Nordstrom Hiring!”
Las Vegas High School, a sister school of the Beverly Hills High School in California, sent an email alerting parents to a break-in at the school that evening in that city. “While we have heard of other break-ins across the country, this is the first time we’ve had to notify parents this way,” Superintendent Jeremy Wakefield wrote in the email.