Video shows 70 flash mob looters ransack Oakland gas station, took police 9 hours to respond: 'Things have to be fixed somehow'



A flash mob of roughly 70 looters ransacked a California gas station convenience store, which cost approximately $100,000 in losses. The owner said it took Oakland police about nine hours to respond to the looting.

Around 4:30 a.m. on Friday, a flash mob looted the 76 Gas Station & Mini Market near the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.

The owner, Sam Mardaie, said there were two employees working at the time and the looting lasted around 40 minutes. The business was only offering window service at the time of the pillaging. However, the looters broke into the market through the front door.

“Shelves were ripped apart, all the grocery items were torn or stepped on or vandalized,” Mardaie told KTVU.

The owner released video of the flash mob ransacking his gas station convenience store. Surveillance video shows the looters going behind the counter and stealing food and products.

None of the employees were harmed in the flash mob looting.

The looters snatched approximately $25,000 in cash from the store’s register and ATM. The owner said the criminals were not able to steal the safe.

Mardaie and his family took over the business in August 2023.

“This is the hardest thing you could ever go through…especially if you’ve been put in sweat and tears day in and day out,” Mardaie said. “Building yourself for the last ten months and then you’re back to square one.”

"Things have to be fixed somehow," Mardaie said. "The citizens of Oakland have to have some sort of security."

The owner said he knew the area was known for crime, but added: "I did not know it is this terrible."

The 76 gas station is located in the same area of Oakland where an In-N-Out fast food restaurant closed in March because of out-of-control crime. The location was the Southern California-based burger chain's only restaurant in Oakland.

The Oakland Police Department told KTVU that officers were responding to a sideshow near the airport that had more than 100 vehicles at the scene. The department said officers responded to the gas station robbery about 90 minutes after receiving a call. However, there were no suspects at the 76 gas station. Police marked the crime as a Priority 2, which means that the incident can be reported online. However, police upgraded the robbery to a Priority 1 crime after seeing the surveillance video.

No arrests were made in relation to the flash mob looting.

District 7 City Councilmember Treva Reid, who represents the area where the crime occurred, said she continues to "advocate and work to secure increased public safety resources and response." Reid urged Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao to prioritize her district's demands.

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Video: Chaos erupts as 'unruly crowd' of 600 overwhelms Six Flags Over Georgia, teen in critical condition in police shooting



Pandemonium erupted as an "unruly crowd" of as many as 600 people overwhelmed the Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park on Saturday night. Gunfire broke out as law enforcement attempted to quell the chaotic situation, and police reportedly shot a teen during the violent exchange.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials told WSB-TV that the Cobb County Police Department was contacted around 6:15 p.m. on Saturday regarding an "unruly crowd" of 500 to 600 people at the Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park.

According to police, several fights erupted near the entrance of the park in Austell – roughly 17 miles northwest of Atlanta, Georgia. The park's security was overpowered by the mob.

— (@)

A gunfight broke out on a service road that is not on the amusement park property, according to Six Flags Over Georgia officials.

Police returned fire, and a 15-year-old was shot during the exchange.

"At some point, multiple people began shooting, hitting an unoccupied CCPD marked patrol car," the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. "As officers identified where the shots were coming from, they ran after people who had run into the woods. During the incident, one CCPD officer fired his weapon, hitting one minor."

The 15-year-old was rushed to Grady Hospital. He is reportedly in critical condition as of Sunday. His name has not been released.

A handgun was found near the wounded teen, according to the GBI.

No officers were injured in the gun battle.

The GBI is conducting an independent investigation into the police shooting and will submit its findings to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.

Six Flags Over Georgia said in a statement about the violent incident, "Our goal is to provide safe, fun entertainment. We employ state of the art security systems and metal detection, maintain a robust and vigilant Public Safety Department, and have strong support from Cobb County Police who are present both inside and outside the park."

"Every guest is expected to follow our strict code of conduct and anyone unwilling to follow that code of conduct is unwelcome," the statement from the amusement park read.

Park officials blamed the disruption on "groups of underaged youth."

"Just like other venues in the area, we are committed to keeping this type of trouble outside our park and off our property," the statement said.

Gerald Rose – local social activist and president of the New Order National Human Rights Organization – told WAGA-TV, "Summer hasn’t even broke yet, and on the first day of the amusement park, someone at 15 gets shot? We have all this gun violence going on and I'm just very concerned with where we're headed. It's just the fact that the suspects doing these crimes are younger and younger."

Rose noted that teenagers are supposed to be at home playing video games, not committing adult crimes.

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Scores of looters swarm gas stations and wreak havoc in America's most violent city



Scores of thugs swarmed two Memphis gas stations over the weekend, stealing thousands of dollars of merchandise and destroying property. Looters also hit a 53-foot FedEx semi-trailer, stealing multiple packages.

While last year, former District Attorney Amy Weirich indicated that Memphis would trend in this direction if soft-on-crime Democratic professor Steve Mulroy was elected chief prosecutor, the exasperated mayor of America's most dangerous city indicated this week the courts were to blame for failing to ensure that criminals are locked up.

Criminals on tour

WMC-TV reported that multiple businesses were robbed and vandalized Saturday night.

"Some people referred to it almost as a purge, it was ridiculous," said James Davis, owner of L.R. Clothier. "I saw some videos on social media."

Davis' business was broken into early Sunday morning, according to police.

"What this says to me is that people don't fear any repercussions of their actions," added the store owner.

Roughly $2,000 of items were stolen from the Exxon at 3483 Airways Boulevard. Over $15,000 of merchandise was taken from the Fill-N-Go gas station at 3084 South Third Street just hours later, where a clerk reported having a rifle pointed at him by a suspect. The mob is estimated to have inflicted $9,000 in damage at the second location.

Footage of one of the incidents shows a mob of looters, some masked and others bare-faced, ransacking a gas station and absconding with everything from candy to an electric sign. One hooded figure taking his time deciding which chocolate bars to load into his sagging pants can be seen carrying around a rifle. Another masked figure grabbing a handful of loot appears to be an adolescent girl.

Clerks and paying customers look on in disbelief as the looters pilfer without any fear of consequence.

— (@)

The looters' targets were not all stationary.

In what appears to have been a coordinated effort, drivers blocked a FedEx truck in the middle of Riverport Road and Mallory Avenue around 8:30 p.m., affording masked men an opportunity to break into the trailer and steal multiple packages.

WHBQ-TV reported that Memphis Police arrived in time only to see various vehicles speeding and driving recklessly away from the gutted FedEx truck.

Officers later received a call from security at Breezy Point Apartments indicating that guards had detained three men suspected of breaking into the FedEx truck, all reportedly reeking of marijuana.

Inside the suspect's white Chevrolet, police reportedly found four Kicker Speakers 6x9, a vehicle headlight, one 14-piece set of pots and pans, a cardboard box of air lines, and three DirectTV cable boxes.

The trio were taken into custody.

— (@)

Par for the course

Following the recent lootings, Mayor Jim Strickland said, "I mean it's similar to videos I've seen across the country. Those convenience store owners are small business people. I've met with them. They have to work there, themselves a lot, just to earn a living," reported WREG-TV.

"The court system needs fundamental change to adjust to what's going on out in the community. The police are arresting them. The courts won't keep them," said Strickland.

While the mayor figures the courts are to blame for his city's failure to keep criminals in check, former Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich told "The Todd Starnes Show" last year that her Democratic opponent, now District Attorney Steve Mulroy, would be unwilling and unable "to stand up and fight for the victims of crime and ... enforce the law."

Weirich added that Mulroy's election would leave Memphis looking like San Francisco, although by the numbers that would amount to an improvement.

Memphis scores a 0 on Neighborhood Scout's crime index, where 100 is safest. The likelihood of becoming a victim of a violent crime is 1 in 40. The chance of falling victim to a property crime is 1 in 18.

According to the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission, a non-profit focused on public safety, major violent crime is up 5.4% this year in Shelby County. The major property crime rate has skyrocketed 42.1%.

Murders are up 77% this year and on track to set an all-time city record. The previous record for deadliest year was set in 2021, where Memphis saw 346 homicides and 304 murders.

The city, which had a population of 621,056 last year, reportedly has a poverty rate of 24.2%, an unemployment rate of 9.3%, and a median household income of $43,981, well below the national average. Its demographic makeup is 64% black and 27% white.

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SHOCKING: 'FLASH MOB' theft hits Nordstrom as crime rates SKYROCKET across America



If you’re looking for a safe, crime-free city to call home, Los Angeles is probably not the place.

California police have reported that more than 30 people stole over $300,000 worth of items from a Los Angeles shopping mall this past Saturday afternoon.

Video footage shows what looks to be over a dozen people in black masks and clothing escaping the ransacked store with stolen merchandise in hand.

Glenn Beck and Stu Burguiere review the footage, shocked.

“Nobody’s stopping them,” Glenn remarks.

“If I didn’t have, you know, my own moral compass, and I knew they couldn’t do anything, and I needed a screwdriver, why wouldn’t I just walk in and just grab the screwdriver and walk out?” he adds.

Stu claims that his wife and daughter witnessed something similar last year. The two were in a makeup store when three women came in with giant black grocery bags and filled them up with makeup.

“They just walked out with no conflict, no one trying to stop them. They just walked in and walked out,” Stu says.

When his wife asked a worker what had happened, she was told those people come in at least once a month and that employees have to let them in. No one's allowed to stop them.

And Stu isn’t sure how to stop shoplifters either.

“I don’t know what the solution is to it exactly. It’s either massive increase in police force, where you have police everywhere, which is like a police-state-type environment, because if you can’t trust anybody to not break the law constantly that’s what winds up happening.”


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Video: Up to 50 smash-and-grab thieves ransack LA Nordstrom, steal $100K in merchandise during brazen heist



Video shows a mob of as many as 50 thieves ransacking a California Nordstrom store in the middle of the day on Saturday.

Around 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, as many as 50 smash-and-grab thieves pulled off a brazen flash mob robbery at the Nordstrom store in the Westfield Topanga Mall in the Canoga Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The swarm of robbers – dressed in all black wearing hoods and masks – snatched high-priced luxury bags and clothing. Some of the bags were still attached to display cases as thieves fled the store.

Customers and store employees looked on helplessly.

A witness told KABC, "I really didn't understand at first what was going on and then I recognized what was really happening when all the security ... everybody was going to the one area."

At least one security guard was doused in Mace pepper spray or bear spray during the robbery. The guard was treated on the scene by paramedics.

Police say the thieves ran out with the stolen goods and escaped the crime scene in multiple cars – including a BMW and a Lexus.

Investigators said the flash mob robbery stole up to $100,000 in merchandise.

The Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement, "To criminals, it is just property taken. To those who live in the area and patronize the Topanga Mall, it is a loss of feeling safe. The LAPD will exhaust all efforts to bring those responsible into custody and seek criminal prosecution."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) also issued a statement, "What happened today at the Nordstrom in the Topanga Mall is absolutely unacceptable. Those who committed these acts and acts like it in neighboring areas must be held accountable. The Los Angeles Police Department will continue to work to not only find those responsible for this incident but to prevent these attacks on retailers from happening in the future."

While no suspects have yet to be arrested, LAPD officers said they have several leads.

The same Nordstrom store was hit by smash-and-grab thieves armed with pepper spray in 2021.

KTLA reported, "Several suspects were arrested at the time, with ties to an organized crime spree involving other robberies that took place across the Southland."

On Tuesday afternoon, 30 robbers pulled off a heist at the Yves Saint Laurent store in Glendale, about 20 miles west of Saturday's robbery. Criminals stole about $300,000 in merchandise from that flash mob robbery.

Anyone with information on the flash mob robbery is encouraged to send an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.lacrimestoppers.org.

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Video captures 'flash mob' of burglars swarming Nordstrom in Southern California mall www.youtube.com


Chicago suburb forced to cancel armed forces carnival after flash mob of 400 teens causes chaos, video shows brawls and kids clashing with cops



An armed forces carnival that was scheduled for Sunday was canceled by officials in a Chicago suburb after a flash mob of hundreds of teens caused chaos at the event on Saturday.

The Village of Tinley Park in Illinois announced that the final day of the Armed Forces Weekend Carnival scheduled for Sunday had been canceled "due to safety concerns stemming from a flash mob incident at Saturday’s event."

"Police said a group of about 400 teenagers who were responding to a call on social media to form a flash mob gathered at the carnival Saturday evening and began running through the parking lot and fighting with each other in an attempt to cause chaos and disrupt the event," Tinley Park government officials said in a statement.

A police officer was injured attempting to break up a fight and was treated at a local hospital before being released.

Authorities decided to cancel Sunday's festivities after learning that another flash mob was being planned for Sunday's carnival.

Videos from Saturday's armed forces carnival show teens brawling and clashing with cops.

Arab Chicago – "Chicago’s largest network focused on the Arab Community Check" – posted several videos of the mayhem that took place on Saturday's carnival.

(WARNING: Graphic video)

\u201cA teenager trying to fight off two police officers!\u201d
— Arab chicago (@Arab chicago) 1684687112
\u201cMore of these, Zero manners! Someone would ask: where are the parents?! \ud83e\udd14\u201d
— Arab chicago (@Arab chicago) 1684687112

Officials said most of the teenagers were released back into the custody of their parents. Five citations were issued for fighting.

In April, hundreds of teenagers flooded into the streets of Chicago in another flash mob. There were countless fights and several vehicles were damaged.

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Viral video: Philadelphia Wawa store ransacked by unruly mob



A viral video shows a Wawa convenience store in Philadelphia ransacked by an unruly mob. After marauding the Wawa store, the riffraff marched into the parking lot, where some engaged in fisticuffs.

An out-of-control crowd of youths suddenly poured into the Wawa location on Roosevelt Boulevard at Tyson Avenue in Philadelphia's northeast neighborhood of Mayfair. Video shows the throng of lawbreakers stealing items and annihilating the shelves in the store on Saturday night.

Right in the middle of the mayhem, a customer asks a Wawa worker, "Are y'all making the sandwiches, or y'all gonna keep recording?"

The Wawa employee mentions "walking out" of his job because of the chaos caused by the flash mob. A Wawa responds to the customer, "It's gonna be a little while."

The original video was reportedly posted to Facebook by an alleged Wawa employee who recorded the chaos while she was working the deli counter.

The original video, along with footage of the fights and the ruinous aftermath, were posted on Twitter by the Libs of TikTok account. In less than 12 hours, the viral video has been viewed nearly 800,000 times.

\u201cA large group of criminals ransacked a WaWa store tonight in Philadelphia\u201d
— Libs of TikTok (@Libs of TikTok) 1664076993

The Philadelphia Police Department have yet to comment on the Wawa being ransacked.

Earlier this month, Wawa locations across Philadelphia were forced to shut down early because young people were ransacking the convenience stores.

KYW-TV reporter Joe Holden wrote on Twitter, "They hit a number of Wawa locations — and police tell me most of their Center City locations have since shut down. I checked on two stores — they were closed. Police say an unknown number of juveniles were taken into custody."

\u201c\u201cClosed early due to police activity\u201d\nPhiladelphia Police tell me dozens of juveniles were ransacking convenience stores across Center City (nothing to do with Made in Amercia, according to police sources). @JoeHoldenCBS3 (1 / )\u201d
— Joe Holden (@Joe Holden) 1662255446

Last month, there was a "street takeover" of a 7-Eleven in Los Angeles that left the convenience store in total disarray.

Video posted in August shows a thief brazenly stealing products from a Walgreens store in San Francisco.

As of February, Walgreens shuttered 11 locations in San Francisco. The national pharmacy and retail store chain cited crime and theft as the primary reason for store closings.

'People are getting really tired of this': Looters ransack 7-Eleven after 'street takeover'; separate incident blocks drivers — some of whom had 'family emergencies'



A "street takeover" earlier spawned an "angry" mob of looters who ripped off and ransacked a 7-Eleven store, Los Angeles police said in a press release.

What are the details?

The street takeover occurred at the intersection of Figueroa Street and El Segundo Boulevard around 12:40 a.m. Monday, police said.

Motorists flooded the intersection, blocking traffic from all directions to create a “pit” in the middle of the intersection, police said.

During the street takeover, "spectators" exited their vehicles and watched as motorists recklessly did "donuts" — a maneuver in which a driver purposely loses tire traction while heading in circles while accelerating, police said.

Spectators then formed a "flash mob" of looters and rushed a nearby 7-Eleven, police said, adding that video surveillance showed looters vandalizing the store and grabbing for snacks, drinks, cigarettes, lotto tickets, and other merchandise, police said.

Image source: KTLA-TV video screenshot

“It turns into an angry, somewhat mob mentality,” LAPD Detective Ryan Moreno said during a Thursday news conference, according to KTLA-TV. “They come inside the store, they start ransacking the place, taking everything.”

The store clerk was working alone that night, and police said he feared for his life. One man allegedly threw items at the clerk, which led to a “violent encounter” between the two, Moreno said.

Looters then exited the store to surrounding parking lots and streets and quickly dispersed before police arrived, police said.

Image source: KTLA-TV video screenshot

Officers obtained surveillance video of the looters to identify and arrest individuals involved, police said.

Second street takeover

Another street takeover occurred along the 110 Freeway the same night, police told KTLA.

“There were people on the freeway that were trying really to get to places they had to go; some had family emergencies, and they’re just sitting there stuck so these guys can do their thing,” Moreno said, according to the station. “People are getting really tired of this.”

Detectives are asking for the public’s help in identifying those involved in the incidents, KTLA said, and are encouraging anonymous tips. The station said anyone with information about the incidents can contact South Traffic Division detectives at 323-421-2500 or email STDdetectives@lapd.online; those wishing to remain anonymous can call CrimeStoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).