Saturday night flash mob takes over Jacksonville Walmart
A huge Saturday night house party broken up by police in a North Jacksonville subdivision ended with one man shot in the leg as he and hundreds of other partygoers fled the officers' arrival.
But the party didn't stop at the home in the 12000 block of Sampson Road, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Hundreds of its teenage partyers ignited a flash mob about 90 minutes later at the Walmart Supercenter at 12100 Lem Turner Road. They took over the produce section and caused havoc that was recorded and posted on YouTube.
Officers were called just before 10 p.m. on a report of a "large house party," calling in more units to provide crowd and traffic control, according to the police report. As police were clearing the scene, an officer was alerted to a gunshot victim at Shands Jacksonville who had been shot in the right leg as he was leaving the party.
The 20-year-old Lem Turner Road resident told police he heard several gunshots as he reached Sampson and Percy roads, so he started running. He stumbled and fell, which is when he realized he had been shot. He said he didn't see a gun or anyone who could have shot him since "the crowd of people was so large," according to the report.
Officers at the scene as well as residents who live nearby didn't report hearing any shots.
Several hundred people who left the "massive house party" moved on to the Walmart about 11:20 p.m., and more shots were fired there, according to a second police report. Officers dispatched to the store found out that it had been mobbed, with produce being thrown.
Most of the crowd appeared to be teens on the YouTube video. The flash mob only lasts about three minutes on YouTube, but apparently lasted longer as people are seen riding in shopping carts, throwing items and mugging for the camera.
No identifiable Walmart employee is seen intervening during the video, which ends with at least one person yelling "Hey, let's go to Wendy's" in the parking lot.
Gunshots were apparently fired into the air outside the store, but no cars or people were hit, according to the police report.
A store security scanner at the front door was damaged.
KGW:
'Flash rob' targets Troutdale Albertsons
by KGW Staff
Posted on June 18, 2012 at 12:06 PM
TROUTDALE -- A flash rob group of teens targeted a Troutdale store last weekend and investigators are trying to identify the suspects.
Investigators said as many as 40 kids entered the Albertsons store at 25691 SE Stark Street at the same time late Saturday night and started stealing things.
Raw video: Flash robbery
Security officers chased the thieves out, but no one was captured. They also left employees pretty shaken up, including one woman who was in tears after getting terrorized by the robbers.
Investigators have not said exactly how many items were taken.
"Basically it looks like they went in, just to cause chaos, which they accomplished," said Sgt. Steve Bevens with the Troutdale Police Department.
Investigators believe the suspects ranged in age from 13 to 15. They could be seen on surveillance video, roaming from aisle to aisle.
Customers said the store employees were overwhelmed and outnumbered.
"They [thieves] were bragging and laughing about how much stuff they stole and what they did in the store," one witness told KGW.
If caught, the suspects could face several charges including rioting, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.
This was one of several flash rob-style robberies being investigated in the Portland Metro area over past months.
The robbers emulate the popular and peaceful flash mob gatherings now common throughout the world. Instead of synchronzied entertainment, those in a flash rob use a large gathering as a source of distraction as they commit a crime.
3 comments:
Flash mobs have gone woodstock to altamont.
If this keeps up there will be a case made for automated media surveillance
Everyone of these look more like Soultrain to me
Epa, you might be interested in this footage if you ahven't already seen it.
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