Around 12:40 p.m. on August 21, a Hispanic man approached a Korean woman in her car at the parking lot of the “City Center on 6th” shopping mall located at 6th Street and Mariposa Avenue in Los Angeles. Armed with a gun, he threatened her and demanded her valuables.
As the robber smashed the car window and attempted to take the woman’s belongings, she desperately resisted and fled from the vehicle. However, the robber chased her, snatched her bag, and escaped in a waiting car. The stolen bag contained a cell phone and other valuable items.
Five days earlier, on the morning of August 16, around 10 a.m., a Korean man was assaulted and robbed by a pair of robbers armed with a gun and a knife. He was waiting for a parking ticket in the public parking lot next to BCD Tofu House on Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown. The robbers took his expensive watch and personal belongings.
On August 15, at around 2:30 p.m., another Korean woman was robbed in the parking lot of Hanmi Bank in Koreatown. Two Black men attacked the woman who was about to enter the bank, stealing her bag containing $13,000 in cash and checks before fleeing.
These incidents, which occurred in broad daylight over the course of a single week in Koreatown, all took place in locations frequently visited by Koreans. Despite the presence of witnesses and security cameras, the robbers acted with shocking boldness, seemingly unconcerned about being caught on camera or that anyone would come to the victims’ aid.
The August 21 robbery took place in a shopping mall that houses many Korean businesses, including a large Korean supermarket, bakeries, restaurants, clothing stores, and cosmetic shops. The incident occurred during lunchtime when many people usually visit the mall.
When the Korean man was assaulted by the two robbers – a Black and a Hispanic man — at the public parking lot next to BCD Tofu House on August 16, a parking attendant and witnesses were nearby. While some witnesses called the police to report the robbery, no one stepped forward to help the victim, likely because the robbers were armed with a gun and a knife. By the time the police arrived, the robbers had already fled the scene. The entire incident, including the assault and robbery, was captured on the parking lot’s security cameras.
Even when armed robbers commit crimes in broad daylight, the police response seems ineffective. The police advise people to lock their car doors securely and be aware of their surroundings when getting out of their vehicles to avoid becoming targets of crime. But is it really the victims’ fault for being targeted? What is the purpose of the police if not to protect citizens?
The passive and indolent attitude of the police in responding to crimes was also evident in a string of break-ins that affected a dozen Korean businesses in the downtown garment district.
On the night of Saturday, August 24, a pair of thieves broke into a business and created a tunnel through walls to access and steal from neighboring businesses. Although some business owners reported the theft to the police on Sunday morning, the police visited only the affected store and left after checking the damage.
However, the same pair of thieves returned to the scene around 10 p.m. that night and continued their thefts until midnight. The two suspects, both Hispanic men in their 30s or 40s, were captured on security cameras casually burglarizing items while lighting each other’s cigarettes.
This area has seen a continuous wave of thefts, including a series of jewelry-store burglaries in March this year. Some businesses have been burglarized multiple times.
Yet, the police merely suggest that businesses should install security systems and lock their doors properly to avoid theft. There has been no effort to strengthen patrols or implement preventive measures.
The reason the garment district continues to suffer from burglaries is that the police are not actively pursuing the thieves. The area has likely gained a reputation among criminals as a “theft hot spot” where the risk of being caught is low.
If daylight robberies in Koreatown continue to go unpunished, even with witnesses present and the crimes captured on camera, the area will inevitably become known to robbers as a ‘robbery hot spot.’ If a ‘broken window’ is left unattended, the dam of public safety will collapse. The police must arrest the suspects involved in these recent daytime robberies in Koreatown, no matter what.
By Mooyoung Lee [lee.mooyoung@koreadaily.com]
