Unarmed Thieves Make Off With $30K in Apple Merch in Store Full of Shoppers

Similar thefts are hitting Lululemon stores as well
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 25, 2018 4:32 PM CDT

A Costa Mesa, Calif., Apple store was packed with customers Monday night when a group of men ran in and, with no weapons, managed to rip nearly $30,000 worth of iPads and iPhones off the display tables before fleeing the store. "I don’t understand how you could just swipe $30,000 worth of iPhones. There are so many people in the store," said one shopper who expressed surprise at the crime to CBS Los Angeles. Others noted that the whole incident happened so quickly, shocked shoppers didn't have time to react. Surveillance video captured the incident at South Coast Plaza, an upscale Orange County shopping mall; as they ran from the store, an off-duty police officer can be seen getting kicked to the ground as he tried to stop them. Police are searching for what they believe to be five suspects, KTLA reports.

Also in California, three women pulled a similar stunt in a Lululemon store in Fresno Sunday afternoon, ABC 30 reports. Police say the women calmly walked into the high-end athletic wear store, stuffed 148 pairs of leggings—about $17,000 worth, per NBC Bay Area—into their bags, and walked out. Police believe it may be the same group that has hit more than a dozen Lululemon stores in the Bay Area with similar thefts this month, stealing $135,000 worth of merchandise. (More Apple Store stories.)

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