Groups of looters ransacked shopping centers and retailers around the country throughout Thanksgiving week following last weekend’s full-fledged stealing bonanza in California’s Bay Area.
A Sunglass Hut at the Del Monte shopping center in Monterey, California, was hit by a group of four on Friday, who stole an estimated $30,000 in sunglasses, police confirmed to KSBW.
Store Manager Shauna Weirich said the bandits were in and out within two minutes.
“They just knew what to do,” she said per KSBW. “No rhyme or reason for it they just knew what to do, when to do it and how to get the most out of what they were doing.”
The same day, a group of eight between the ages of 15 and 20, stole crowbars, hammers, and other tools from a Lakewood, California, Home Depot, according to Fox 11, citing the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. They made off with an estimated $400 in tools.
“We tried to stop them,” Home Depot employee Luis Romo told FOX 11. “We closed the front entrance and they put their sledgehammers up and whoever got in the way, they were going to hurt them.”
Fox 11 reports:
The suspects all fled the store in getaway vehicles parked outside. According to the sheriff’s department, one of the getaway vehicles was a red Mercedes Benz with severe damage to the front. The department says possibly 10 vehicles were involved.
Around 9 p.m. Friday, officers with the Beverly Hills Police Department spotted several vehicles with no license plates near Beverly Dr. and Dayton Way. Thy [sic] conducted a traffic stop on one of the vehicles; the four occupants were taken into custody.
They were booked at the Lakewood Sheriff’s Station and items among the alleged stolen property were recovered, Lakewood city officials said Saturday.
Crimes were not isolated to the Golden State. Two mobs of looters ransacked multiple Best Buys in metro Minnesota on Friday night, according to the Star Tribune.
Both of the ransackings took place shortly after 8:00 p.m. Police say a mob of 20 to 30 people rampaged through the Burnsville Best Buy, while a group of ten to 12 that included both juveniles and adults hit the Maplewood store, according to the Star Tribune.
No injuries were reported, and no one was arrested as of Saturday.
More looting was documented in the midwest on Black Friday. Three men reportedly waltzed into a Chicago Foot Locker, filled trash bags with merchandise, and fled the area, according to NBC Chicago, citing a WBBM-TV report.
Though Black Friday brought numerous group thefts throughout the country, looting had been prevalent throughout the days leading up to Black Friday.
On Wednesday, a group of thieves reportedly stole designer handbags from a Nordstrom in the Westfield Topanga mall in Canoga Park in Los Angeles, according to Fox 11. The looters made off with an estimated $25,000 in merchandise.
Breitbart News reported on an incident that left a security guard dead while he was protecting a KRON news crew:
The victim’s name is Kevin Nishita, and he left behind his wife, two children, and three grandchildren. Nishita was an armed security guard for Star Protection Agency and was a former policeman.
…
The outlet said, “The KRON4 crew was covering a story on Wednesday about a recent robbery where 12 thieves wearing masks and hoods raided a clothing store on the 300 block of 14th Street,” adding that at 12:20 p.m. Wednesday, an assailant attempted to steal KRON4’s camera equipment, according to police.”
Nishita was shot in his lower abdomen and later succumbed to his injuries.
We mourn the loss of retired police officer Kevin Nishita who honorably served our Bay Area Community. He was protecting/guarding a local news crew when he was senselessly murdered. Today, we escorted his body from the hospital with full law enforcement honors. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/ZbKRn7J732
— Alameda County Sheriff (@ACSOSheriffs) November 27, 2021
The mayhem of Thanksgiving week follows a three-night-long free-for-all in California’s Bay Area last weekend, previously reported by Breitbart News.
Looters hit high-end stores like Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent in San Francisco’s Union Square on November 19. The next night a group of 50-80 rushed a Walnut Creek Nordstrom near San Francisco.
#Breaking About 25 cars just blocked the street and rushed into the Walnut Creek Nordstrom making off with goods before getting in cars snd speeding away. At least two people arrested at gunpoint. pic.twitter.com/AG3R94M9L3
— Jodi Hernandez (@JodiHernandezTV) November 21, 2021
Police estimate between $100,000 to $200,000 was lifted from the department store, according to Fox News.
On November 21, a Lululemon in San Jose was ransacked. At least 40,000 in merch was stolen from the store, according to Fox News.
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