A 2nd-degree assault reported at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda yesterday bumped the year’s tally of assaults at the property past last year’s total. Montgomery County police were summoned to the mall Tuesday afternoon at 2:33 PM, after someone was physically assaulted during a shoplifting incident. Yesterday’s assault was the twelfth reported at the mall in 2025, officially surpassing 2024’s total of eleven. Police have been more visibly patrolling the mall in recent months, working closely with mall security officers. But the permissive attitude of County elected officials regarding crime – including retail theft – has made it challenging, with a relentless parade of shoplifters ransacking stores countywide.
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