Multiple arrests made after dozens ransack California Nordstrom

Officers have reason to believe break-ins were strategically organized

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY/CNN) - San Francisco police arrested three suspects Saturday night after dozens ransacked a Nordstrom department store in what police are calling a "smash-and-grab" incident.

Officers have reason to believe about 80 suspects were involved in the crime at the department store in Broadway Plaza. Lieutenant Ryan Hibbs with the Walnut Creek Police Department (WCPD) shares that the suspects fled in at least ten different vehicles.

"A number of vehicles were leaving. We managed to stop one of them," said Lt. Hibbs, adding that no injuries were reported.

The lieutenant shares that officers are questioning the arrested suspects to figure out the identities of the ones that got away.

The manager of a nearby restaurant told CNN affiliate KPIX that the looters were wearing masks and carried what appeared to be crowbars.

"There was a mob of people," Brett Barrett described. "The police were flying in. It was like a scene out of a movie. It was insane. ... It was a scary scene for a moment."

WCPD officers have not yet determined the estimated cost of damages and stolen items.

This ransacking follows a series of similar lootings Friday night in Union Square and surrounding areas in San Francisco. Police Chief Bill Scott confirms a Louis Vuitton store, Burberry store, jewelry store, Bloomingdale's, Walgreens, cannabis dispensaries and even an eyeglass shop were targeted.

San Francisco has been struggling with a surge in crime this year as it reopened during the pandemic. In the Central district, for example, larceny and theft incidents are up almost 88% from a year earlier, and overall crime is up almost 52%, according to police statistics.

Chief Scott reveals eight people were arrested after Friday night's break-ins, all of whom were "young adults." He expects that number to go up as police continue to investigate video footage from the scenes.

Authorities believe both night raids were organized in a manner that would overwhelm police.

"Their plan was hoping that we wouldn't be here, but we were. And some of them think they got away with it, but I am confident, I am confident, that there will be more arrests to follow," Scott said.

Officers say they also seized two vehicles and two guns. As a result of the recent incidents, police departments plan to "flood" the area with units going forward.

"We will do what we need to do to put an end to this madness," Scott said. What happened, he said, was "absolutely unacceptable in all forms."

Surveillance video provided by the Oak Brook Police Department shows 14 suspects grabbing items from shelves.

"Once they entered the store, they pulled out the garbage bags from their coats and started filling them with merchandise," Oak Brook Police Chief James Kruger said, according to WLS.

The suspects used three vehicles to drive away. Police recovered one of them, a Dodge Charger reported stolen last month in Chicago.