More than half a dozen thugs, all of whom were wearing black facemask coverings, stormed into a clothes shop on Thursday while it was open for business and brazenly robbed it blind.
The event is not unlike anything that’s been in the news before, except this wasn’t in San Francisco or Los Angeles; it happened last week in Memphis. The shop’s parent company claims that over 60 comparable events occurred in the Memphis region alone in the previous year.
Police published CCTV footage of the shoplifting group as they left a nearby City Gear store with as many stolen goods in their arms as they could handle. According to the police, who reviewed the surveillance tape, at least seven people were involved in the coordinated heist. The specific value of the stolen products has not been disclosed by either the police or Hibbett, the parent firm of City Gear, but it was characterized as a “large amount.”
The robbers are seen carrying clothing in police-released footage. In two separate images, shoppers leave the store with six shoe boxes each, all dressed in black.
According to Mark Gunn, Hibbett City Gear’s senior vice president and chief human resources officer, the issue in Memphis was “a bit unusual” last year, but the firm is still determined to keep its shops operating in the Memphis area—for the time being, at least. Regarding the most recent heist, Hibbett chose not to comment.
To what degree “organized retail theft” occurs is a matter of intense controversy. Many stores have issued alerts about what they see as an increase in these crimes, while others have cast doubt on the problem, claiming that gangs are responsible for just about 5% of retail theft in general.
This gang has undoubtedly managed to elude authorities up to this point.
According to MPD, the heist at the City Gear did not result in any injuries.
