After investigating a possible theft at the Westfield Century City mall Friday evening, police have determined no crime took place.
Earlier in the day, officers received reports of a possible smash-and-grab robbery around 5:43 p.m. at the shopping center located on the 10200 block of Santa Monica Boulevard.
At the time, witnesses reportedly said they saw the suspects putting on masks before ransacking a store and fleeing the area, but Los Angeles police later found no evidence of a robbery.
No further details were released on this case.
The number of “flash mob” robbery incidents across Southern California has seen a troubling rise over the past month, with designer and luxury retailers typically targeted.
The thefts prompted the creation of an Organized Retail Crime Taskforce earlier this month to stop the rising number of group robberies targeting retailers.
The task force involves several law enforcement agencies and will not only focus on the suspects robbing retailers, but also on those who purchase the stolen goods online, officials said.
On Friday, 4 suspects were arrested in connection with a series of flash mob robberies taking place across SoCal. Earlier this week, 11 other suspects were also arrested for their alleged participation in flash mob robberies.