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Pennsylvania authorities revealed Tuesday that surveillance video has captured a brazen Lululemon smash-and-grab, with two masked individuals using a sledgehammer to carry out the overnight break-in.
The suspects, seen grabbing armfuls of merchandise during multiple rounds of theft, reportedly fled the scene in a U-Haul truck, Lower Merion Police told Fox 29 Philadelphia.
The incident in the Ardmore shopping center reportedly occurred just before 2 a.m. Tuesday and resulted in what investigators believe was worth more than $5,000 of stolen merchandise.
In the video released by police, two masked suspects dressed in all black swung what appeared to be a sledgehammer into the store’s windowed entrance. They then quickly rushed through the opening without hesitation, immediately targeting winter coats and shirts in the men’s section.
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The suspects appeared to grab entire racks of puffer jackets and sweatshirts before returning outside. The video then shows the men coming back into the store a second time after dropping off the stolen items to take even more merchandise.
Overall, the footage shows the heist lasting roughly five minutes.
The individuals fled the scene after loading the stolen merchandise into the bed of a U-Haul pickup truck parked outside, Fox 29 reported.
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By the afternoon, the store had reopened, but the glass on the front door remained shattered, with a large banner placed in front of the entrance, the local station reported.
According to an employee from across the store, Tuesday’s incident was not the first time the Lululemon store was targeted.
“I walked out here with my bartender and we looked, and it’s scary that it’s happening right across the way from us,” Gina Picciano, general manager of Lola’s Garden, told Fox 29.
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In last year’s incident, Picciano said the theft occurred during store hours.
“All of the sudden a bunch of people were just running out with armfuls of stuff, so it happens in broad daylight,” he added. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s night or day, and that’s crazy.”
The Lower Merion Police told Fox 29 that delayed alarm alerts can impact response times, emphasizing crime prevention and partnerships with merchants.
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“Sometimes there’s a delay in receiving these calls with Lululemon because their operations center, they’re the ones that receive the video and the alarm,” Superintendent of Police Andy Block said. “Prevention here is the key for this and we’re always concerned about the criminal element coming into our communities, and our officers work all the time to try to prevent this, we want to work with our merchants to try to make our community safer.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Lower Merion Police and Lululemon for more information.
Read the full article here
