Dozens of people ransacked a gas station mini-mart near the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport in Oakland, California, early Friday morning, leaving the store in ruins. Shocking surveillance footage captured the suspects in a flash mob tearing apart the store, rifling through shelves, smashing items, and filling shopping baskets with stolen goods.
The owner of the 76 Gas Station & Mini Market, Sam Mardaie, reported that the thieves caused an estimated $100,000 in damages and even threatened two employees during the incident. Mardaie expressed his devastation, stating, “This is the hardest thing you could ever go through, especially if you’ve been putting in sweat and tears day in and day out.”
It took nine hours for police to respond to the crime, which was initially classified as a priority two incident with no suspects on the scene. Oakland Police eventually arrived within 90 minutes of the burglary after viewing the surveillance video. Mardaie lamented the situation, saying, “They got away with it. They were here for 40 minutes. You could tear a whole city down in 40 minutes.”
The 76 Station is located near the Oakland airport, and Mardaie estimated that around 70 suspects linked to a nearby illegal sideshow gathering were involved in the break-in while the mini-mart was only serving customers through the window. The incident highlights the ongoing issue of flash mob robberies in the area, leaving business owners and authorities scrambling to address the escalating problem.
