LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – Surveillance footage captured a burglar rappelling into a California business after cutting a hole in the roof and breaking through the ceiling earlier this week.
The unusual robbery occurred just before 7 a.m. Monday at M&M Smoke and Gift Shop in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Video shows the suspect, dressed in dark clothing, slowly came down a rope and jump to the ground where they retrieved a bag they had already dropped from the ceiling. Once down, the person started rifling through the shelves behind the store’s counter.
Surveillance footage captured a burglar rappelling into an Eagle Rock store on Nov. 13, 2023. 
Surveillance footage captured a burglar rappelling into an Eagle Rock store on Nov. 13, 2023. 
Surveillance footage captured a burglar rappelling into an Eagle Rock store on Nov. 13, 2023. 
Store employee, Roy Hanna, surveys damage done to the smoke and gift shop after the burglary on Nov. 13, 2023. 
Store employee, Roy Hanna, surveys damage done to the smoke and gift shop after the burglary on Nov. 13, 2023.
Roy Hanna, who works at the store and discovered that the shop had been burglarized, said the thief was in the store for about five to ten minutes.
While he’s unsure how much cash the thief got away with, Hanna said the rope-climbing burglar focused on lottery scratchers and cigarettes.
After the suspect loaded up the bag and attached a rope to it, they climbed back out the way they came in.
Authorities with the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed Hanna filed a police report about the burglary, but said they had no further details at this time.
