By Antonio Planas and Minyvonne Burke -
NBC News
Armed suspects last week stole jewelry, cash and electronics from four men renting a home through Airbnb in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Beverly Crest, police said.
The incident is considered a "burglary," a criminal trend in which suspects target victims, follow them, and then rob them by entering isolated areas such as their homes.
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The early-morning incident Wednesday occurred after four men who were visiting Northern California returned to their rented property after dinner.
They were targeted by thieves who followed them by car through West Hollywood and into the posh Beverly Crest neighborhood before accosting them in their driveway, police told NBC Los Angeles.
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The suspects entered the Airbnb at gunpoint and ransacked the property.
No one was injured, but the thieves made off with $75,000 in stolen items, according to the aforementioned media outlet.
Los Angeles police on Monday afternoon declined a request for comment from our sister network NBC News, including whether any suspects have been arrested.
In a brief statement last week, police explained that the incident occurred around 1:35 am and that the suspects were wearing dark clothing.
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More than a dozen gangs in the Los Angeles area are targeting these types of home break-ins, police said earlier this month.
In one of the alleged attacks, 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.
Approaching an intersection, one of the individuals got out of the Challenger, approached his car and used an unknown tool to break the driver's window.
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“The victim tried to drive away but was unable to due to heavy traffic.
When her vehicle stopped, the victim got out and ran west on 8th Street for help,” police explained.
The robbers, one of whom was allegedly armed with a pistol, chased the woman in their vehicle, hit her with their car and got out.
The victim “immediately took off his watch and threw it into the street.
The thieves grabbed it and fled," according to police.
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The woman suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.
Police announced in November that they were forming a task force to combat the problem.
Detectives observed victims being followed from places including Melrose Avenue, the Los Angeles jewelry district and high-end restaurants and nightclubs in the Hollywood and Wilshire divisions, police said in a statement.
The Home Monitoring Task Force was expected to be made up of 20 detectives from the police department's Robbery-Homicide Division and other divisions, according to police, with the goal of identifying the thieves and their "associated teams." .