3 Teenage Girls Accused of Mall Robbery Turn Themselves In

Three teenage girls suspected of attacking and robbing a 60-year-old woman at the Westfield Culver City mall surrendered to authorities today, police reported.

The victim was walking to her car in the first level of the mall on Monday when she was struck from behind and knocked to the ground. Once on the ground, the woman was struck several times by her assailants, who took property from her and fled, said Lt. Allen Azran of the Culver City Police Department.

Images of two of the suspects were disseminated by the news media, and the three girls -- all from Los Angeles, two of them 14 and the other 16 years old – “turned themselves in to officials where they attend school and admitted involvement in the robbery,” Azran said.

The girls were taken into custody and transported to the Culver City Police Department, he said, noting that their names were not released because they are juveniles.

The woman had reported that she was struck by two suspects, but it turned out that three were involved, Azran said.

--City News Service