Saturday, November 27th, 2021
Masked people plunder luxury shops
Flash mob robbers terrorize USA
Looting gangs are currently terrifying the United States by clearing luxury shops in large groups. The raids usually only last a few minutes. And they are increasing. The California retail president speaks of “domestic terrorism”.
Around 80 hooded people storm a luxury department store, loot the luxury department and, minutes later, escape in 25 cars. Flash mob heists like this one in the Californian city of Walnut Creek are putting retailers and police on high alert at the beginning of the holiday season.
The brazen raids are particularly frequent in San Francisco and the surrounding area and in the Chicago area. The day before the attack on the Nordstrom department store in Walnut Creek last Saturday, 40 people simultaneously attacked the branch of the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton in Union Square in San Francisco, cleared the shelves at lightning speed and sped off in their cars.
Three Louis Vuitton stores in Chicago have been targeted by flash mob attacks. In the suburb of Oak Brook, a gang of 14 looted goods worth more than $ 100,000.
Retailers across the country fear copycats and are taking safety precautions. “The current level of organized theft in retail is simply unacceptable,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom. “Companies and customers should feel safe with their Christmas shopping.”
30 masked men storm clothing store
The Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally started the hectic season of Christmas shopping in the United States. The governor previously commissioned a special unit of the California Highway Patrol to work with the local authorities against the mass theft.
So far without success, the flash mob attacks are even increasing: In Hayward near San Francisco, more than 30 thieves looted a jewelry store. Recordings from a surveillance camera in the nearby city of Oakland show more than 30 masked men storming into a clothing store, clearing the clothes rails and disappearing again in less than a minute.
Flash mob thefts, also known as flash rob, are not a new phenomenon. But this year they have increased significantly. The extent and speed of the attack on the Nordstrom department store in Walnut Creek surprised and shocked many. “I wouldn’t even call this organized crime, it was domestic terrorism,” said Rachel Michelin, president of the California retail association, Fox40 television station in Sacramento.
“That’s bold, that’s drastic”
Baltimore University criminologist Jeffrey Ian Ross sees no evidence that shoplifting has increased across the country. He suspects, however, that the videos of the Flash Robs spread on the Internet may have inspired others to emulate. “That’s bold, that’s drastic,” he says.
So far it is unclear whether there are connections between the numerous group thefts and how those involved communicate, coordinate and resell the stolen goods. So far, only three of the approximately 80 people involved have been caught in the attack in Walnut Creek. Nine people were charged with the looting of San Francisco’s Union Square.
Criminologist Ross fears that the predatory bottle mobs will never be fully solved. The number of murders and violent crimes in the United States has increased and the police are at their limit, he says. If then dozens of tons of goods are stolen, “the police can’t keep up”.