It took just seconds for a team of four thieves to make off with $27,000 worth of Apple products over the weekend, an ABC News affiliate reports. The team of bandits ripped out electronics that were tethered to display chargers from tables across an Apple store in Fresno, California. The robbery, which took place in the Fashion Fair Mall, seemed to shock customers and Apple store employees, who stood by as the fast-acting bunch grabbed as many electronics as possible before shoving their way out of the store.
The entire heist was captured by surveillance cameras and showed four young men wearing hoodies making fast work of taking laptops and iPhones. In total, the crew managed to steal 26 items, all from the center two tables in the front and middle of the store. Laptops were slammed shut and pulled from their securing cords, and iPhones were quickly yanked out before the group ran for the exit. While one bystander seemed to attempt to block their escape, he was pushed aside, and all four men ran away seemingly unscathed.
Customers can be seen huddling together in petrified groups, as one young girl ducks under a table for safety.
“Various iPhones, the iPhone 6, iPhone 7 and 8, and even the new iPhone X was taken in this grand theft,” said Mark Hudson of the Fresno Police Department. “One customer stood by the door to prevent them from leaving but was knocked out of the way.”
Police are now in search of the suspects, who are described as four or five black males between the ages of 16 and 18 years old. The fifth member of the group is said to be the getaway driver. None of the four suspects in the store ever displayed a weapon, the police said.
Law enforcement officials believe that the theft may be related to a markedly similar incident that took place at an Apple Store in downtown San Luis Obispo, California on June 21. In that case, the robbers managed to take a table’s worth of merchandise.
“There are other reports of other places, other cities in California, that have had these kinds of takeover thefts,” Hudson said. “So we are looking into [this crime] being connected to other crimes, at any other Apple Stores outside of Fresno.”
Apple has long been plagued by similar robberies, dating back several years.
