Another gun robbery occurred in broad daylight at a popular mall in Los Angeles Koreatown. The suspect reportedly chased a fleeing woman and robbed her of her belongings.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) Olympic Division responded to a report of a robbery in the parking lot of City Center on 6th, a shopping mall at 6th Street and Mariposa Avenue in Koreatown, at around 12:40 p.m. on August 21.
According to the police, the victim is a Korean-American woman. The suspect approached her in her car in the parking lot, threatened her with a gun, and demanded money. The suspect was described as a Hispanic male in his 30s.
“The woman exited the vehicle and fled from the suspect,” said police, ”but the suspect chased and grabbed her purse, and got into a vehicle waiting to flee the scene.” The authorities believe that the robbery was planned and an organized crime.
The mall where the incident occurred is home to many Korean-American businesses, including a Korean supermarket, bakeries, restaurants, clothing and cosmetics stores. Koreatown residents are concerned that it occurred during the lunch hour when there is a high flow of customers to and from restaurants and the supermarket.
“I’m worried about this because a lot of customers are coming to the mall for lunch,” said John Park, the owner of Hanshin Pocha, a restaurant bar in the mall. “I’ve been working in Koreatown for nearly 40 years, and incidents seem to be happening more frequently these days.”
“I’ve been in the mall for more than 10 years, but I’ve never seen a robbery like this in broad daylight,” said a business owner in the mall who asked not to be identified. “It’s shocking that it happened during lunchtime when a lot of people come to the mall for lunch or coffee.”
“There is security, but only one person manages the entire mall,” said another business owner at the mall, pointing to security issues.
Police urged residents who has information about the incident to call 213-382-9460, as it was in broad daylight and there were likely many passersby.
Recently, Koreatown has seen a spate of robberies. On August 15, a Korean-American woman was threatened and robbed of $13,000 by a robber in the parking lot of a bank on Olympic Boulevard in Koreatown.
On July 30, a Korean-American man was robbed at knifepoint and was demanded money in a high-rise parking garage near Wilshire and Harvard Boulevard.
In June, a handgun robber broke into a bakery in town and stole about $800 in cash before fleeing, adding to Koreatown’s insecurity with at least one armed robbery incident every month.
BY SUAH JANG, HOONSIK WOO [jang.suah@koreadaily.com]
