#NYC thieves swarm upscale boutique in $50K mid-afternoon robbery

Five robbers swarmed a high-end Soho boutique Thursday afternoon, stealing $48,300 worth of luxury goods and injuring a security guard.

The brazen heist happened around 12:30 p.m. at the Celine Boutique on Wooster Street, where some pricey handbags retail for thousands of dollars, the NYPD said.

Two suspects casually entered the Manhattan store before three cohorts pushed the door open and fought with the French boutique’s security, according to police.

One guard suffered an injury to his elbow and thumb during the fracas. The suspects fled the store with their haul and remained on the run Friday night, police said.

In 2020, thieves robbed the Soho store of $1.5 million worth of goods as looters targeted luxury stores in the neighborhood in the aftermath of the George Floyd police murder.

The latest incident came as brazen organized looting at luxury stores continued spiking across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smash-and grab robberies were especially prevalent in California, where a gang of hammer-wielding thugs terrorized a San Jose jewelry store last month before stealing more than $100,000 worth of merchandise.

Manhattan stores have also been repeatedly targeted by violent robbers. In December, men smashed a display case at Tourneau Jewelers in Midtown, making off with $25,000 worth of watches. In another recent incident, robbers smashed the display case of Superdry in Herald Square to strip mannequins of their wares.