WATCH: Video shows group of women stealing safe from California grocery store

On December 17, surveillance cameras in an Orange, California, grocery store captured footage of a burglary carried out by five women.

In the footage, released by California authorities, the five women can be seen walking through Produce World posing as customers. Some of the suspects can be seen with headscarves and caps partially concealing their faces.

Two women took a shopping cart and entered the grocery store's backroom, where they picked up a large red safe and carried it away. The New York Post reported that the other three women distracted the employees as they carried out the theft.

The women then casually left the store with what was identified as a blanket covering the safe. Mercury News reported that a getaway vehicle was waiting outside for them, allowing them to escape with what was later discovered to be $9000 cash. It is unclear whether or not a separate getaway driver was involved in the robbery.

---

California officials and members of the community respond to the Orange grocery store heist

In an official statement, Orange Police Chief Dan Adams said that the heist was particularly heinous, as the suspects had targeted a small family-owned business.

Dan Adams said:

“This is heartbreaking, especially during this holiday season. I hope these women are caught, jailed, and held to answer for their felonious crimes."

As per CBS news, Robert Shaw, a customer of the California grocery store, reiterated the devastating effect the heist would have on the family. He said:

"(These kinds of robberies are) commonplace now which is horrendous. This is a small place and $9,000 means a lot to them."

Salah Siyam, a clerk at the store, identified the role of one of the suspects in the video, a woman in a scarf and checkered dress who took part in taking the safe. Siyam said:

"The woman wearing a long checkered dress is seen on security video casing the storeroom, going in and out of the office where the money from sales was kept in a safe."

Nasser Abdallah, the owner of Produce World, expressed shock at how the women could easily lift the safe that weighed approximately 80 pounds. He went on to describe the way that the thieves concealed the safe. Abdallah said:

"She had something under her skirt and she pulled that down, lifted the safe with one hand and covered it with [a] cove."

Fox reported that the theft occurred at 11 am in the small city 30 miles away from downtown Los Angeles. The case currently remains under investigation by California authorities.

Orange Police have not reported any details on potential suspects in the case. Officials have requested civilians with any information about the heist to step forward.

---