Thieves smash car into SF’s Dior store and steal merchandise

Merchandise was stolen from San Francisco’s Dior store near Union Square in a robbery that appeared orchestrated by several individuals early Thursday morning, and this afternoon, police said two suspects were arrested. 

The San Francisco Police Department said it was first called to the scene of the robbery on the 100 block of Grant Avenue at 6:49 a.m., before the store had opened.

The preliminary investigation revealed that drivers in three separate cars stopped in front of the store, and one of the drivers rammed into the store’s entryway, Officer Gonee Sepulveda, a spokesperson for SFPD, wrote in an emailed statement. A photo posted on social media by KGO-TV reporter Suzanne Phan showed the front gate warped. 

Multiple individuals reportedly hopped out of the cars and rushed into the store, grabbing merchandise before fleeing in cars. 

Police broadcast a description of the cars to officers across the department, and an officer spotted one of the vehicles entering a freeway ramp. The car crashed, and all occupants hopped out and took off on foot. Officers caught up to two of the suspects and arrested them, the police said. 

The police department said it’s unknown how many other people who may be connected with the robbery got away. It did not comment on the value of the stolen merchandise. 

Security guards stood in front of the store Thursday afternoon as work crews fixed the entryway and replaced the broken gate. They told SFGATE that they could not comment on the robbery. 

A security guard at the neighboring Giorgio Armani store said that he has noticed an increase in police presence in the Union Square neighborhood since he took the job two years ago.

“Sometimes the police come over, and they block people from coming into the store,” Femi Tala said. “The police are here every day. I think the robberies are now happening at night or in the morning.”

San Francisco’s Gucci store was looted in July, and the Louis Vuitton store and other high-end retailers in Union Square were robbed by multiple thieves who broke windows and pulled merchandise off shelves in November 2021.