A violent attempted robbery at a laundromat in North Hollywood Wednesday has left a business owner and his customers shaken up after an armed man stormed the business demanding money.
Surveillance video captured the masked man barging into the Laundry King, wielding what the LAPD described as a metal pipe or rod. He demanded that employees open the store’s safe, but staff told him they did not have access.
Moments later, the owner’s wife entered the business and became a direct target of the attacker.
“He started shoving people, hitting them, and hitting my wife… throwing her to the ground,” said owner Varden Kostanian, who operates five Laundry King locations across the area. “When I saw the footage, I was devastated.”
A customer had already called the police as the chaos unfolded. LAPD arrived quickly and officers arrested the suspected attacker.
Kostanian said business plummeted within minutes as word of the attack spread.
“I’ve never seen my laundromat empty like this,” said Kostanian. The business owner noted that safety concerns in the area have been ongoing for years — prompting him to employ a security guard nightly from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Kostanian says he is considering implementing 24‑hour security, though the cost could potentially put him out of business.
“I have to decide on a different kind of protocol or have security 24 hours but then that means I’m gonna have to go bankrupt paying my security guard. Unbelievable,” said Kostanian.