NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Five thieves ransacked a SoHo boutique of nearly $50,000 in handbags in the middle of the day, tussling with employees before taking off with the stolen goods, police said Friday.
The brazen robbery took place Thursday afternoon at Celine, a high-end clothing store on Wooster Street that was looted of over $1 million in clothing in 2020.
Police said the five suspects pulled up in a Toyota Venza around 12:30 p.m. and a guard let in two men who pretended to be shoppers.
But moments later, the three other suspects pushed their way inside the shop, according to police.
The thieves used force against employees as they grabbed about $48,000 in bags and fled the location, police said.
The suspects were still at large Friday following the smash-and-grab-style robbery, which has been a growing problem nationwide.
Many stores in SoHo keep their doors locked during the day despite being open because of similar robberies, according to WABC.
A concerned resident of Broome Street told the station, “A lot of families live down here, and it just makes you second guess if Manhattan is a long-term place.”
In late May 2020, about two dozen men and women ransacked and vandalized the same Celine boutique of $1.5 million in merchandise. Several other stores in the area were also targeted amid protests.
Related
Related
