Gangs of thieves increase raids on department stores in California

Three people accused of having participated in a group raid of a store in California were questioned by the police on Tuesday, the latest event in a new criminal trend in this American state, sometimes involving dozens of people.

Some 20 people in four cars took part in the raid on a Los Angeles department store on Monday night, killing a sledgehammer on the window before entering the compound to grab men's clothing.

Read alsoCalifornia at war against kit firearms

On Saturday, more than 80 people flocked to rob a department store in Walnut Creek, near San Francisco. The theft

city ​​police said in the

daily

. The next day two similar attempts took place in the affluent city of Beverly Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles, a group attempting to smash the windows of Louis Vuitton and Saks Fith Avenue stores. Police say both attempts were unsuccessful.

Gangs of thieves wielding hammers also targeted several California stores over the weekend, into downtown San Francisco.

Videos posted on social media showed people with hidden faces rushing out of a Louis Vuitton store, with the stolen merchandise.

In the large city of Oakland, near San Francisco, gangs targeting cannabis stores opened fire during a confrontation with police.

Read alsoCalifornia struggling with a historic drought

"We have information that indicates that it is a collective of people, several groups, who are coming together to carry out these attempted break-

ins," Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong told the San Francisco Chronicle, adding that it seemed that the operation was organized via social networks.

Despite this series of high-profile thefts, statistics from the California Department of Justice show that the level of crime in California is at an all-time low.

However, thefts and burglaries appear to have increased in 2021 compared to the previous year, when restrictions linked to the pandemic significantly reduced the figures for certain categories of crimes and misdemeanors.