Dozens of robbers stampede through two Minnesota Best Buys as ‘flash mob’ robberies spread through California
- At least 30 people went to a Best Buy store in Burnsville, Minnesota at around 8 p.m. on Black Friday and stole electronics 15 miles south of Minneapolis.
- No one was injured and no weapon was used during the incident.
- It is not yet known how much goods were taken from the shop.
- A second Best Buy, 25 miles away, also picked up on Friday, with about 12 people walking into the store in downtown Maplewood.
- The group carried ‘televisions, tablets and hoverboards’ among other things.
- In both the incidents, the police reached the spot after the suspects fled.
A group of 30 robbers landed on a mall Minnesota and shamelessly marched through two branches of Best Buy, taking off the shelves what they liked with them.
One incident happened near the Burnsville Mall in suburban Minneapolis, in which about 12 people rushed to steal items, while the other incident occurred in Maplewood on Friday night, with a large group of 30 people robbing electronics.
Both the incidents happened almost at the same time and the police are trying to find out if they are connected in any way.
This is the latest in every organized ‘flash mob’ Crime Events.
At least 30 people broke into a Best Buy store in Burnsville, Minnesota around 8 p.m. on Black Friday and stole electronics 15 miles south of Minneapolis.
A second Best Buy, 25 miles away, was also picked up on Friday, with about 12 people walking into the store in downtown Maplewood, pictured,
Local police did not say how much was stolen, but noted that those involved in the robbery did not use any weapons as they took TVs, tablets and hoverboards with them.
‘There’s a lot of crazy piracy going on. Not good,’ said Best Buy shopper Sean Misjen CBS News At Maplewood Shop. ‘Especially with cars being stolen and everything like that, you have to be careful.’
Another shopkeeper, Bettiana Romero, said, ‘I would not like it if I were here and it is happening as I am there.
‘I’m not worried about myself in general. If people come in and rob the shop, they are going to get the stuff, not me. I’ll do what I need to do,” said shopkeeper Lao Yang.
By the time the police reached both the places, the accused had disappeared.
‘We cannot tolerate this kind of behaviour. As a society, we just can’t,’ Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher.
Best Buy issued a statement that said: ‘As an industry we are working with local law enforcement and taking additional security precautions where it makes sense.’
In Los Angeles, a gang of eight robbers fled the scene on Black Friday after robbing a Home Depot in 10 getaway cars
Earlier in the week, so-called smash-and-grab gangs attacked a Nordstrom in Los Angeles’ Canoga Park, snatching $25,000 of high-end luxury goods and spraying a security guard in the process .
Nordstrom was also targeted by flash mob thieves who raided a department store branch in Walnut Creek, east of San Francisco.
On that occasion, more than 90 robbers could be seen entering the store and doing good in a matter of minutes.
Describing the incident as “organised theft”, police said it was “clearly a well-planned incident”.
A day earlier, people looted and ransacked stores in San Francisco’s Union Square, including designer stores for Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent.
In Lakewood, Calif., eight men went to a Home Depot store to steal equipment.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department says the thieves ‘selectively selected a variety of hammers, sledgehammers and crowbars with an estimated value of $400.’
Police were able to chase down one of the getaway cars, which ran away on the 110 freeway.
A group of about 40 to 50 teenage shoppers robbed an undisclosed amount of jewelry and other items in Hayward, California, last Sunday. Experts and officials say the National Crime Network is behind many ‘smash-and-grab’ operations
Los Angeles police say at least 20 men broke glass at Nordstrom on Monday night with a hammer and ransacked its shelves before fleeing.
advertisement
,