A gang of shoplifters was filmed brazenly ransacking a Chicago beauty store as it was revealed three organized gangs of thieves are targeting the city's stores.
The clip was shot at an UIta Beauty store in the Windy City's Norridge suburb over the weekend, and showed a gang of three hooded thieves emptying its shelves of expensive Christian Dior and Armani makeup into black trash bags.
It was shared on social media Monday, with the shocked cameraman, who hasn't been named, saying: 'Look at this, this is insane,' as he films the theft unfolding before his eyes.
An Ulta Beauty spokesman told Fox News they were aware of the incident, and had reported it to police.
It came as a local outlet reported Chicago's stores have been targeted by three different organized crime gangs.
One of those gangs has been targeting upmarket designer stores on the city's Magnificent Mile, whose businesses were hit by looting in summer 2020 during riots in the wake of George Floyd's murder.
The second has targeted at least three Ulta Beauty stores - although it's currently unclear if that is the same gang filmed at the Norridge location.
Meanwhile, the third gang has been raiding Walgreen's drug stores to steal cigarettes.
A gang of three shoplifters were filmed emptying the shelves of a Chicago Ulta Beauty store on Saturday
The trio targeted expensive Christian Dior and Giorgio Armani makeup, as the Windy City was hit by reports of three different organized shoplifting gangs targeting its businesses
35 handbags were reportedly stolen by a 12-man crew on Monday who then left in two separate cars after
A crew of six men reportedly attempted to rob Salvatore Ferragamo on Saturday before being recognized for a similar crime in August by a security guard
Burberry on the Magnificent Mile was also targeted by shoplifters
Multiple stores in Chicago's Magnificent Mile, pictured, have been targeted just a year after it was hit by looting in the wake of George Floyd's murder
The first shoplifting crew who have been stealing from high-end Chicago stores during the day between the Magnificent Mile and Rush Street, according to CWB Chicago.
Twelve men were seen involved in a raid of 35 handbags at Bottega Veneta on Monday- which go for thousands of dollars each- and left in two separate cars, including a gray Honda CRV.
That saw one man request to be let into the store, with 11 then following in his path and overwhelming its security staff.
A similar incident happened on Saturday where nine handbags were stolen at Burberry by six men who pushed a security guard out of the way.
The same crew allegedly attempted to steal from Salvatore Ferragamo an hour before but left after they were believed to be recognized by the store's security guard.
They already reportedly stole $43,000 worth of the store's merchandise in August and injured the security guard during the theft. It is unclear if the men behind the Salvatore Ferragamo and Burberry thefts are also suspected of being linked to the Bottega Veneta raid.
Cigarettes have also been reported stolen at Walgreens by a two-man crew
Another crew of three men also raided a store called Intermix on Friday and got away in a gold BMW.
Police are also warning Ulta Beauty stores about stolen perfumes as another group of shoplifters have been seen taking these products in garbage bags on both Friday and Saturday.
These shoplifters are rumored to be selling Ulta Beauty products for discounted prices online.
Weekend reports of cigarettes being stolen from Walgreens by a two-man crew who are said to drive a white four-door Buick.
The city of Chicago has seen an increase of crimes related to theft since last year.
A 12 percent increase was reported for regular theft with 7,919 cases in 2020 and 1,866 cases in 2021.
For motor vehicle theft, a three percent increase was reported with 6,957 cases in 2020 and 7,195 cases in 2021.
A decrease, however, has been reported for burglary with a 36 percent decline as 6,854 cases were reported in 2020 and 4,413 cases were reported in 2021.
The spike in these areas of crime have led Mayor Lori Lightfoot to take action such as increase police spending, despite the liberal leader previously agreeing with calls to defund police department budgets.
This was proposed by Lightfoot after a year of violent crime, which included the fatal shooting of Chicago PD officer Ella French on August 7.
French, 29, was killed and her 39-year-old partner Carol Yanez Jr was critically wounded during a struggle after they stopped an SUV because of expired plates.
Emonte Morgan, 21, and his brother Eric, 22, were in the vehicle at the time and were asked to step out by French, Yanez and another officer.
Eric Morgan, who was driving, attempted to flee the scene while the third officer chased after him.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is increasing police funding after a violent year of Chicago crime
Both French and Yanez were then shot in the back of the head by Emonte Morgan who in turn was shot by the third officer at the scene, wounding him.
The Morgan brothers were both charged for their involvement in the shooting.
Emonte was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and unlawful use of a weapon. He entered a not guilty plea on Monday.
His brother Eric was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon with a prior connection.
Members of the Chicago Police Department turned their backs on Lightfoot when she turned up at hospital to visit French's seriously-injured partner.
'In a time of tragedy, emotions run high and that is to be expected. The mayor spoke to a range of officers that tragic night and sensed the overwhelming sentiment was about concern for their fallen colleagues,' a statement from Lightfoot's office said.
'As the mayor stated … now is not the time for divisive and toxic rhetoric or reporting. This is a time for us to come together as a city. We have a common enemy and it is the conditions that breed the violence and the manifestations of violence, namely illegal guns, and gangs.'
The new proposal was seen as a change for Lightfoot who cut about $59 million or 3.3 percent from the budget last year and left 600 vacant positions open in the department.
‘It’s my expectation that the police department budget will increase, no question. We have to,' she said at a press conference last month.
‘We have to make sure we are continuing to provide resources to recruit the next generation of police officers and make sure we’re doing that recruitment in a way that reflects diversity of the city.’
Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx has been slammed for her 'soft' views on crime
Other Chicago officials such as Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx have been criticized as she has been considered 'soft' on the city's crimes.
In the wake of a violent Chicago crime-filled summer, Foxx fought with Superintendent David Brown of the department in July over the rising rates.
'The violence we are experiencing is not the result of a slowed-down court system; it is a larger and more complex issue (both locally and nationally), that requires all of the criminal justice stakeholders to work together rather than engaging in deflection and blame-shifting,' Foxx tweeted.
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