Police are hoping to identify the perpetrator after a man was caught on surveillance video punching another man from behind and stealing his cellphone inside of a Best Buy in West Hollywood, authorities said Thursday.
The robbery occurred around 7:50 p.m. Monday inside the Best Buy at the West Hollywood Gateway, on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
The assailant was seen pacing throughout the store before he approached the victim and knocked him to the ground without a confrontation, sheriff’s Detective David Cusiter said.
“He struck him so viciously that he fell straight to the ground, and the victim is very disoriented,” Cusiter told KTLA. “He did lose consciousness and he’s complained of pain.”
The assailant picked up the man’s cellphone after the attack and escaped by running through an emergency exit at the back of the store, officials said.
Authorities are now searching for the man, and Cusiter said he should be considered “incredibly dangerous.”
“For someone to commit and act like that on a completely innocent victim in a very public place at 7 p.m., he’s a very dangerous individual,” the detective said.
Officials described the suspect as black man in his early 30s with a bald head. He weights around 200 to 215 pounds and measures about 5 feet 10 inches tall.
At the time of the crime, he wore tan shorts and a black hooded sweatshirt, authorities said.
No other details were provided.
Anyone who sees or knows the suspect should not make contact with him but immediately call the Sheriff’s Department, authorities said.
Those with information can contact the sheriff’s West Hollywood station at 310-855-8850. Anonymous tips can be submitted via 800-222-8477 or LACrimeStoppers.org.