The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said there is a new trend of crime in the city, with gangs of roaming criminals targeting civilians who leave luxury stores and robbing them of valuable items.
According to the Daily Caller, this “follow home” approach of crime sees numerous suspects gathered together to follow a single target home as they are leaving high-class restaurants, boutiques, and other luxurious businesses, violently robbing them of any valuables they have on them, and then reselling the stolen goods on the black market.
“There’s no chance or opportunity for these victims even to comply,” said Captain Jonathan Tippet. “They’re just running up to people and attacking them, whether that’s putting a gun in their face or punching them and beating on them. In my 34 years on the job, I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Tippet further warned that anyone who purchases such items on the black market are complicit in the crime as well.
The “follow home” tactic of crime was first identified last year, with the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division (RHD) developing its own Hollow Home Task Force in order to “assume follow home robberies and identify the associated crews of suspects.” This method has rapidly expanded among the city’s underworld, with up to 17 different criminal organizations now actively employing this tactic to attack people and steal from them.