Police are investigating a series of “smash and grab” incidents overnight in the Washington area, including Fairfax and Montgomery counties, in which thieves broke into businesses’ windows and made off with items in a matter of seconds.
According to police, at least 10 businesses were damaged beginning around 1 a.m. on the 27th in northwest Washington, D.C., Montgomery County, Maryland, and Fairfax County, Virginia. In Fairfax County, a nail salon and waxing business were robbed at Tysons Shopping Centre around 5 a.m. The suspects were seen arriving in a black BMW with no license plates.
In Montgomery County, a Japanese restaurant, nail salon, waxing shop, gas station, deli, and pharmacy located in the Echo Glen Shopping Centre in Bethesda suffered considerable damage, including broken windows and theft of cash. In Washington, D.C., another waxing shop, Thai restaurant, and nail salon located on Connecticut Avenue Northwest were robbed by two thieves.
CCTV obtained by the police shows that there were two or three thieves involved, but it is not yet confirmed whether all the crimes were committed by the same thieves. Prior to this incident, on June 25, a mixed group of six men and women entered the Chanel store, a luxury goods store in Tysons Galleria department store, wearing masks, sprayed fire extinguisher on the security guard, and then quickly stole the store’s merchandise and ran away.