Brazen thieves on bikes held up three 7-Eleven stores in California in the space of half an hour, breaking in and making off with everything they could carry.
About 20 thieves broke into stores in Hollywood, stealing food, drinks, cigarettes and anything else on the shelves.
The staff could do nothing but stand by helplessly as their convenience stores were looted in the blink of an eye before the invaders moved on to the next one.
The raids lasted a few minutes each and began at 8:02 p.m. Friday, when the store at 7040 West Sunset Boulevard was targeted, police said.
Brazen thieves on bikes raided three 7-Eleven stores in the space of half an hour, breaking in and taking everything they could.
Workers clean up broken glass after one of three robberies
Another store near Hollywood and Highland was raided just 14 minutes later, and a store worker was assaulted in the chaos.
The third to be knocked down was the one located at 5700 Santa Monica Boulevard at 8:22 p.m.
Police have not confirmed that the three were related, but they were all very close together and had the same strategy of breaking windows and escaping on bicycles.
Another 7-Eleven was raided by a similarly sized mob, also on bicycles, on Olympic Boulevard in Pico-Robertson, Los Angeles, last Friday night.
The thieves also jumped on the counter to loot the products behind it and uselessly vandalized the store by knocking over cash registers and displays.
Staff even had objects thrown at them at random as they tried to prevent chaos and were unable to intervene because they were so hopelessly outnumbered.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed 10 bipartisan bills allowing longer sentences for shoplifters, robbers, burglars and car thieves.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed 10 bipartisan bills allowing longer sentences for shoplifters, robbers, burglars and car thieves.
One of the laws allowed police to add up the volume of property stolen in separate burglaries by the same person, even in different counties, to meet the $950 threshold for grand larceny.
Other laws make it easier to fight those who resell stolen goods.
“While some are trying to take us back to the ineffective and costly policies of the past, these new laws present a better path forward,” Newsom said.
‘To make our communities safer and provide meaningful tools to help law enforcement arrest criminals and hold them accountable.’