BACK BAY, BOSTON—Boston’s shoplifting meltdown exploded into full view Friday night when two different thieves tore through the same Sunglass Hut at the Prudential Center only hours apart, turning one of the city’s busiest malls into a stage for retail insanity.

The first suspect was an older man in his 50s wearing gray shorts over black sweatpants. Scanner reports say he grabbed roughly a stack’s worth of designer sunglasses and sprinted toward the Huntington Avenue exit. He began peeling off clothing as he ran, ditching his shorts and later his hoodie in a frantic attempt to disguise himself. By the time officers flooded the area, the description had been reduced to “older dude, 50s, carrying a shopping bag.” That matches half the people walking around Boylston Street on a Friday night, making the search almost pointless.

[PRU MALL]@sunglasshut bandit, old dude in his 50s, gray shorts over black sweatpants, hit the racks for about a stack in shades, took off twd the Huntington Ave exit. BPD sliding in from mall and outside, whole squad swarming.#541pm

— s.t.Å.c.o. | online (@StacoS) November 28, 2025

Police cruisers swept in from the mall and the outside streets. Officers fanned out in every direction. The suspect had already disappeared into the crowd.

Then the night got even stranger.

A second thief, this time a woman in a gray hoodie pulled up over a vest, walked into the same Sunglass Hut and moved like she had practiced. She went straight to the Chanel section, grabbed up to seven pairs of luxury sunglasses, and slipped out the door before staff had time to call police. Officers raced back to the Pru for the second time that night. She was already gone.

[PRU MALL]@sunglasshut hit again, this time a female bandit, gray hoodie, hood-up over a vest. She beelined to the @CHANEL section, scooped up up to 7 pairs like she had a shopping list then was out the door before staff dial 9

BPD rolling but she movin quick#854pm

— s.t.Å.c.o. | online (@StacoS) November 29, 2025

Two hits. Same store. Same night. Two suspects. Zero arrests.

The double strike comes as Boston faces a growing shoplifting crisis that retailers describe as relentless. Official figures show reported thefts rising from 3,086 to 3,433 year over year, an 11 percent increase. Arrests tied to shoplifting have more than doubled in the same period, a sign that the problem is accelerating faster than enforcement can keep up. Businesses across Massachusetts estimate more than $2 billion in losses every year. National data shows an 18 percent jump in shoplifting incidents between 2024 and 2025.

Luxury stores have become prime targets because the merchandise is small, expensive, and easy to resell. Sunglass Hut sits at the top of that list. A thief can walk in empty handed and walk out with thousands of dollars in compact products that fit in a pocket or a bag.

Friday night’s double heist captured what many Boston retailers say they are experiencing daily. Fast moving thieves who vanish into crowds, police chasing shifting descriptions, and stores bracing for the next hit before the paperwork from the last one is finished.

If anyone in the Pru thought the first theft was bad, the second hit confirmed something even more unsettling. The thieves are not afraid. They are getting bolder. And nothing downtown feels off limits anymore.