A Los Angeles city councilmember is calling for more police officers and resources following the latest in a string of robberies and ransacking at 7-Eleven convenience stores.
Police received a call about a theft suspect in the 100 block of North Gaffey Street in San Pedro around 1:39 a.m. Saturday, according to LAPD Officer Rosario Cervantes. She said people went inside a business, took items and vandalized the store. Officers took a robbery report, but no arrests have been made.
Although Cervantes said she did not have information on what or how much was stolen from the store, KTLA-TV reported that more than 1,000 packs of cigarettes and two cash registers, which contained around $5,000, were stolen.
ABC7 placed the number much higher, at about $40,000 in goods, including $1,000 worth of cigarettes and $20,000 worth of lottery tickets.
KTLA obtained surveillance video that showed a group of people jumping over the counter and grabbing cigarettes and other items. The news outlet reported that a large crowd had gathered for a street takeover near the store.
Councilman Tim McOsker, whose district includes San Pedro, said in a statement that the incident is a “continuation of a pattern” happening across the city.
“This isn’t just about property damage or items stolen — it is also about a victim, an employee, fearing for their safety, and a neighborhood that is both in fear and now without a convenience store on the corner,” McOsker said. “It’s deeply disturbing to me that incidents like these are becoming more common.”
It’s seemingly the third weekend in a row that a 7-Eleven store in the Los Angeles area has been hit. Earlier this month, in the Pico-Robertson area, a group of young people ransacked a 7-Eleven store and left on bicycles, Fox 11-TV reported. Video showed people jumping over the counter and grabbing merchandise.
Last weekend, several men on bicycles robbed two Hollywood convenience stores, which were reported to be 7-Eleven stores. Roughly 20 young men arrived at a store on the 7000 block of Sunset Boulevard around 8 p.m., smashed windows and grabbed food and other merchandise, a department spokesperson said. A group of young men fitting the same description then hit another store around 8:20 p.m. on the 5700 block of Santa Monica Boulevard.
Authorities last month arrested four L.A. County men in connection with a series of armed robberies of 7-Eleven stores and a CVS last year that they later allegedly posted about on Instagram.
McOsker said more resources in 911 operations are needed, as well as increased LAPD staffing.
“We could have stopped this at the street takeover before it escalated,” he said. “That’s why we need to expedite hiring in the LAPD. Our officers must be able to respond quickly to prevent these incidents from happening.”
KTLA spoke with the family who owns the 7-Eleven, who said they’d immigrated to America three years ago hoping for a better life, but were now questioning their decision.