Israeli businessman pistol-whipped in LA Rolex robbery

An ordinary workday in Los Angeles turned into a violent ordeal for Israeli businessman Ronen Vered when two armed, masked robbers burst into his store in broad daylight. The attackers held a pistol to his head and struck him forcefully with the weapon before seizing a luxury Rolex watch worth approximately $50,000 from his wrist and fleeing the scene, leaving Vered bleeding from his head.

Vered, who has lived in Los Angeles for about 20 years and is a well-known figure in the local Jewish community, said he had noticed a suspicious vehicle parked near his store and watching the premises shortly before the attack. But he had no time to act before the robbers stormed inside. The assault unfolded in front of shocked customers who were in the store at the time.

At one point during the robbery, one of the suspects pressed the pistol against Vered's head and struck him hard with the firearm. After taking the luxury watch, the robbers fled quickly. Video footage released after the incident showed Vered bleeding from his head and receiving initial medical treatment before being taken to hospital.

According to a report in Shavua Yisraeli magazine and information gathered so far, police do not suspect the crime was a hate crime with a nationalist motive. Despite Vered's standing in the community and his Israeli identity, investigators are treating the incident as a standard robbery. At this stage, the identities of the attackers are unknown and no arrests have been reported.

The Los Angeles incident joins a series of violent robberies that have occurred recently in major cities around the world. In recent months, several similar cases have been reported in which armed robbers attacked business owners and civilians using severe violence. In many cases, such as in Uruguay, victims managed to fight off the attackers, but in this instance the robbers succeeded in completing their crime and escaping.