Surveillance video captured another brazen armed robbery in the Fairfax District Tuesday, and police are searching for the assailant involved in the latest of a string of robberies in the area.
The robbery happened in broad daylight, around 12:30 p.m., at a clothing and shoe store in the 7800 block of Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles Police Department officials said.
A man walked into the store and the employee, who thought he was a customer, approached to assist him.
The man then threw white trash bags at the employee, pulled out a handgun and pointed it at him.
He told the employee to fill the bags with clothes, shoes and money, according to LAPD.
“Fearing for his safety, the employee complied with the suspect’s demands,” police said in a news release.
Video shows the employee holding up a pair of sneakers from a Nike shoe box and sifting through other merchandise as the man pointed the firearm at him.
Police responded to the scene after the man had taken the merchandise and fled the scene on foot.
The robber was described as being between 25 to 30 years of age, standing at about 5 feet, 7 inches tall, and weighing about 200 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black beanie, a blue surgical face mask, a navy blue L.A. Rams hoodie and blue pants.
The robbery happened at Zero’s, which sells rare and limited-edition sneakers.
Zero’s posted on Instagram that everyone is safe, but that the robber stole a lead item that was set to be featured in an upcoming show.
“It’s very disheartening, of course,” owner Zero Selon told KTLA. He added that the worker got a raise after the ordeal.
A half-mile down the street, security cameras captured another burglary that occurred overnight. In that incident, a man was seen on video throwing a rock through the window of a restaurant. The owner told KTLA the robber got away with $3,700.
Crime has been an ongoing issue in the Fairfax neighborhood, and the incident comes just a week after another brazen daytime armed robbery of a group of customers who were dining outside at the La Creme Cafe located at 7376 Melrose Ave.
The owner of that cafe told KTLA that in his nine years running a business along Melrose Avenue, he has never seen so much crime in the area.
Last month, a Shoe Palace employee was fatally shot during a shoe raffle in the Fairfax District. A 16-year-old was arrested the next day later on suspicion of murder.
And in July, a would-be victim shot two men during a robbery attempt near Melrose Avenue and Vista Street.
After making an arrest in connection with the cafe robbery, LAPD also asked for the public’s help identifying two people tied to other robberies that happened in the area on Sept. 1 and 7.
“I am outraged by the continuing robberies,” Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz told KTLA. He said LAPD is dedicating significant resources to the neighborhood and that he’s taken discretionary funds from his budget to help in the effort.
Anyone with information on Tuesday’s robbery is asked to call Wilshire Robbery Detective Flores at 213-922-8217. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.