Thieves Use Bomb in Store Burglary
Burglars used a homemade bomb to blow open a rear door at a Van Nuys sporting goods store and fled with an undetermined number of athletic shoes, Los Angeles police said Saturday.
The bomb was exploded about 11:10 p.m. Friday at the Big 5 store at 7250 Van Nuys Blvd., Sgt. Mark Thompson said.
After entering the store, the thieves went into a storage area, took numerous boxes of shoes and quickly left the scene, Thompson said.
The store was open for business Saturday, but store manager Tony Wilkerson would not disclose how many shoes were stolen or a dollar value on the missing merchandise.
Big 5 is known to stock firearms and ammunition, but Thompson said the thieves ignored those in favor of the shoes.
“No firearms, just tennis shoes,” Thompson said. “I guess that’s a fashion statement.”
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