A massive mob ransacked a Los Angeles gas station and stole thousands of dollars worth of alcohol, condoms and snacks during an illegal street takeover – as cops said they were unable to intervene due to being outnumbered.
Footage from Sunday around 2am showed a group stopping traffic in the Compton intersection of Alondra Boulevard and Central Avenue to drift their cars before charging toward a nearby Arco.
Deputies said they couldn’t intervene as a mob of about 100 people broke the windows of a mini-mart and wiped it clean because they worried about their safety, according to ABC 7.
Those involved appeared to be mostly men with face coverings and were seen snagging thousands of dollars worth of goods before all running in different directions.
The store clerk locked himself in the restroom of the mini-mart until the scene cleared.
A mob of about 100 people ransacked an Arco mini-mart in Compton on Sunday. Police said they couldn’t intervene because they were outnumbered
Footage from Sunday around 2am showed a group stopping traffic in the Compton intersection of Alondra Boulevard and Central Avenue to drift their cars before charging toward a nearby Arco
Police said the street takeover was one of three that occurred in Compton. Only one arrest was made but the cause is unclear.
Another massive takeover involving street racers occurred at Long Beach Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue. Police said a total of 500 people were at involved in both illegal events.
Similarly to the ARCO mini-mart incident, the Long Beach Boulevard takeover ended with vandalism and looting. Police said a laundromat was broken into.
While the ages of the group were disclosed, footage from the night showed grinning youngsters smiling as they plucked condoms from the displays clearly unafraid of getting caught.
Compton residents were in fury over the incidents they believe were done by outsiders.
‘The people who did this, I don’t think they are Compton residents,’ Kevin Evans told ABC 7. ‘We don’t tear up our own city like this.’
Jonathan Bowers, Compton councilmember, echoed his disgust and belief the mayhem wasn’t caused by city residents. He referred to the thugs as ‘kids’.
‘I am totally disgusted,’ Bowers told the news outlet. ‘I’m just upside down behind this. These kids coming in our city and just destroying it like this.
‘In my opinion, the city has not done enough to quell this issue. There are other alternatives and ways to deal with this and I feel like we put it on the back burner and we’re dragging our feet as this thing is getting worse.’
Some residents said they passed by the chaos and saw parents with their little kids sitting to enjoy the street drifting.
‘It makes me angry,’ Norrice Heron told KTLA5. ‘It’s makes me angry when they do that to the streets and put everybody in danger.’
The brazen group stole thousands of dollars worth of goods before fleeing. Pictured: a man stealing condoms
A group of people can be seen standing around the Compton mini-mart before storming in
The thieves can be seen pushing each other shoulder to shoulder to get inside the mini-mart
A broken door window can be seen at the mini-mart as the group prepared to storm in
Tire remains, trash and skid marks could be seen the next morning on the streets
The brazen incident comes after Proposition 47 was passed in California in 2014, meaning that some property theft was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.
The law, aimed at complying with a California Supreme Court order to reduce prison overcrowding, raised the threshold for felony theft to $950 from $400.
Two or more people who conspire to ‘cheat and defraud any person or any property, by any means which are in themselves criminal’ can face only one year in a county prison, a fine of $10k or a combination of the two.
Soft-on-crime progressive District Attorney George Gascón has been slammed for his policies which other politicians claim ‘weaken’ their laws.
Meanwhile, in the neighboring city of Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Brass is seeking to lower the bar for new police department recruits to up the number of officers in the defunded Los Angeles Police Department as crime runs rampant.
To achieve this, Bass plans on hiring a third party to study why some recruits fail in hopes of eliminating some qualifications, according to Fox News.
The mayor’s goal to diversify the police department and lower the qualifications has been deemed ‘dangerous’ among LAPD union leaders as some aspiring officers are extremely unfit for the job.
Aside from seeking ways to increase the number of recruits, Bass also plans on eliminating ‘officers associated with right-wing domestic extremist organizations.’
Crime in the city of Los Angeles has been on a steady high with 26,552 reported property crime incidents, including burglaries, motor vehicle theft and personal theft reported in 2021.
There have been a reported 7,325 cases of violent crime so far this year, including in the categories of homicides, rapes, aggravated assault and robbery.
In total, 15,721 arrests have been made.
Crime in the city of Los Angeles has been on a steady high with 26,552 reported property crime incidents, including burglaries, motor vehicle theft and personal theft reported in 2021
Similarly over the weekend in Chicago, a crowd of more than a hundred rowdy teenagers turned violent in Downtown Chicago on Saturday night as dozens torched and smashed cars while blaring music in a ‘teen trend’ that left two with gunshot wounds.
Shocking footage showed some teenagers jumping on top of a bus while others started a massive brawl after descending on Millennium Park and attempting to breach barricades.
Gunshots rang out with some rounds striking two teenage boys aged 16 and 17.
The two youths were transported to a nearby hospital in fair condition. A total of 15 people, nine adults and six children were arrested.
Police said most of the charges were for reckless conduct, but a 16-year-old boy was also charged with unlawful use of a weapon, and a firearm was recovered. An adult and a juvenile were also charged with possession of a stolen vehicle.
Cars were also left vandalized near East Washington Street in the Windy City, including a Tesla which worth about $120,000.
