Armed suspects stole $75,000 worth of jewelry, cash and electronics last week from four men who were renting an Airbnb in the Beverly Crest neighborhood of Los Angeles, police said.
The incident is considered a "follow home robbery," a criminal trend in which suspects target victims, follow them and then rob them as they go into isolated areas such as their homes.
The early Wednesday morning incident occurred after four men visiting from northern California were driving back to their rental property after dinner.
They were targeted by thieves who followed them by vehicle through West Hollywood and into the swanky Beverly Crest neighborhood before approaching them on them on the driveway, police told NBC Los Angeles.
The suspects forced their way into the Airbnb at gunpoint and ransacked the property. No one was hurt, but the thieves made out with $75,000 in stolen items, the news outlet reported.
Los Angeles police declined a request for comment from NBC News on Monday afternoon, including whether any suspects have been arrested.
In a short statement from last week, police said the incident occurred about 1:35 a.m. and the suspects wore dark clothing.
A representative with Airbnb could not be immediately reached.
More than a dozen gangs in the Los Angeles area are targeting people in these type of follow home robberies, police said earlier this month.
In one alleged attack, on April 11, a woman leaving a jewelry store in downtown Los Angeles was followed by two people in a silver Dodge Challenger, police said in a news release. As she approached an intersection, one of the people got out of the Challenger, approached her car and used an unknown tool to shatter her driver-side window.
“The victim attempted to drive away but was unable due to heavy traffic. When her vehicle stopped, the victim exited her vehicle and ran westbound on 8th Street seeking help,” police said.
The robbers, one of whom is alleged to have been armed with a gun, chased the woman in their vehicle, struck her with their car and got out. The victim “immediately removed her watch and threw it on the street,” police said. The robbers grabbed the watch and fled.
The woman sustained minor injuries and was treated at the scene.
Police announced in November they were forming a task force to combat the problem.
Detectives noted that the victims were being followed from such places as Melrose Avenue, the Jewelry District of Los Angeles, and high-end restaurants and nightclubs from Hollywood and Wilshire Divisions, police said in a statement.
The Follow Home Task Force was expected to be comprised of 20 detectives from the police department’s Robbery-Homicide Division and from other divisions, police said, with the objective of identifying robbers and their “associated crews."
