[ad_1]
A pair of gun-toting robbers stormed into a holiday house party in Los Angeles, where they stole jewelry, phones and a watch from frightened guests, according to reports.
The homeowners hosting the outdoor bash in the city’s Pacific Palisades section said two guests went inside the residence to get their purses Friday night and were confronted by armed assailants who swiped jewelry, iPhones and an Apple watch from two women and fled, the Los Angeles Times reported.
One of the homeowners, who declined to be identified, said he tried to contact LAPD several times to give investigators security footage showing the suspects walking through a front door, but has been unable to reach department officials.
“A detective was supposed to call the women who were robbed, but that hasn’t happened yet either,” he told the newspaper.
The home invasion robbery at the holiday party after nearly two years in pandemic-related restrictions left a woman at the home shaken, she told CBS Los Angeles.
“I’m feeling disturbed, violated that people were in our house with guns,” the female homeowner said while asking not to appear on camera.
The party was happening in the backyard of the home, but the armed robbers targeted the female victims as they went inside, the woman told the station.
“It happened in our family room,” she said. “And it disgusts me because that’s the place where we spend a lot of time.”
An LAPD spokesman told The Post the home invasion heist occurred in the 1200 block of Rimmer Avenue. After allegedly holding up the victims at gunpoint, the suspects, described as two black males, fled in a vehicle, possibly a Hyundai or Kia. No arrests had been made as of early Monday.
No injuries were reported and it’s unclear what was stolen from the guests, Officer Drake Madison said.
The robbery marks the latest in a recent wave of property crimes in upscale Los Angeles neighborhoods, the Times reported, including heists along Melrose Avenue and home robberies on the city’s Westside.
Los Angeles police Chief Michel Moore announced last week the department was putting together a task force to crack down on follow-home robberies, adding that investigators had not seen violent attacks occurring “like this in decades,” according to the newspaper.
Two people were killed last week, including Beverly Hills philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, in such incidents. A 29-year-old Los Angeles man with a long criminal record had been charged in Avant’s slaying, the newspaper reported.
One of the homeowners, meanwhile, said the robbery victims were distressed following the jarring incident.
“It’s more frustrating than it is scary,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “I feel lucky that no one got hurt.”
Robberies in Los Angeles are up 3.2 percent this year compared to last year, but violent crime has increased dramatically from 2019 — including a 46.7 percent rise in homicides and 51.4 percent increase in shooting victims, police data obtained by the Times shows.
[ad_2]