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 destroyed.
Shocking surveillance video shows suspects in a flash mob tearing apart the store as they rifled through the refrigerated section and shelves, smashed items and filled shopping baskets full of loot.
Sam Mardaie, the owner of the 76 Gas Station & Mini Market on Hegenberger Road, told FOX 2 the thieves caused an estimated $100,000 in damage at the store and that they threatened two employees working at the time.
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“This is the hardest thing you could ever go through … especially if you’ve been put in sweat and tears day in and day out,” Mardaie told FOX 2.
He also told the news station it took “nine hours” for police to respond after the crime was first classified as priority two, meaning there were no suspects at the location.
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Oakland Police told FOX 2 officers responded within 90 minutes of the 4 a.m. burglary after viewing the surveillance video. Fox News Digital has reached out to police for comment.
“They got away with it. They were here for 40 minutes. You could tear a whole city down in 40 minutes,” Mardaie told KNTV-TV. “Every time I think about it, the more it hurts.”
Mardaie estimated there were about 70 suspects linked to a nearby illegal sideshow gathering who broke into the store while the mini-mart was doing window-only business.
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