THE-WESTCHESTER-SMASH-AND-GRAB
WHITE PLAINS, NY (77WABC) – Two videos of smash and grabs at The Westchester in White Plains are now going viral.
Both videos making the rounds show brazen thieves taking bags from the Loius Vuitton store, the second video shows a similar theft from Burberry. Neither robbery were made public until Republican for New York governor, Rob Astorino, posted the videos to social media.
The White Plains Police Department then posted on Facebook on Fri. Feb 4th, “It has come to our attention that a video is being circulated on social media depicting a crime committed yesterday at the Westchester Mall. The incident actually occurred in early January 2022 and has since been an active criminal investigation. There have been no recent incidents since then.”
In the video, you see shoppers trying to stop the thieves while a mall security guard looks on and does nothing. Many Westchester residents then questioned why the public was not informed about these cases, and if any arrests have been made.
The White Plains police department released another statement writing:
“The White Plains Police Department is aware of recent social media posts and videos regarding thefts at the Westchester Mall and is actively investigating both incidents. We take these incidents and the greater public safety concerns seriously. We continuously work and collaborate with the property management and security as well as individual stores to assist in crime prevention and security inside and outside the Mall. We can assure the public that all the entities at the Westchester Mall strive to provide a safe environment to visit and that these incidents are not indicative of the overall safety provided by site security and law enforcement. We encourage anyone with information regarding these incidents to contact us. Additional background: One of the incidents happened over a month ago – contrary to the post indicating the incident just happened. There were no weapons used and no one was injured in either incident.”
Same @TheWestchester mall, different day, different men. This time @Burberry was hit. Crime doesn’t just happen “in the city” or “somewhere else.” It’s getting worse everywhere in NY and everyone is affected when criminals are emboldened by soft-on-crime laws. https://t.co/qqfsMiXsSn pic.twitter.com/K8eX0Jmjpv
— Rob Astorino (@RobAstorino) February 5, 2022
