The Apple Store in downtown Palo Alto was robbed twice in 12 hours over the weekend, as the Californian Apple Store crime spree continues.
In the first instance, a gang of eight males entered the store after 7pm on Saturday, and began snatching iPhones and other devices, before fleeing in multiple vehicles. In the early hours of Sunday morning, the store’s glass doors were then shattered with rocks, and more products were taken.
The total retail value of the devices sold is estimated at $107,000. None of the suspects have been identified or arrested.
Police are asking people with information about either theft to call a 24-hour number at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can also be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text or voicemail to 650-383-8984.
Apple Store crime spree
The Palo Alto Apple Store wasn’t the only Californian Apple Store to be targeted over the weekend. At the Apple Store in California’s Santa Rosa Plaza shopping center, a group of six thieves carried out a similar snatch-and-run robbery on Sunday. Fortunately, in this instance, one of the robbers was arrested after being tackled to the ground by mall security and a couple of good samaritans. It is not clear whether some of the same thieves were responsible.
These are, sadly, just the tip of iceberg when it comes to Apple Store robberies in the state. Other locations targeted in recent months have included Apple Stores in Emeryville, Santa Rosa, Marin County, and Fresno. Up until the Palo Alto Apple Store’s twice-in-12-hours robbery, the most unfortunate Apple Store was one at the Roseville Galleria mall was even robbed four times in 20 days — including twice in less than 24 hours.
To try and make similar snatch-and-grab robberies unappealing, Apple installs special versions of its software on display devices. These stop the demos units from working if stolen from stores.
However, it seems that this is not sufficient. With more and more Apple Store robberies happening on a regular basis, this is becoming a risk to customers — as well as a siren call to others who might carry out similar thefts. Maybe it’s time Apple started hiring its own security force or paid to have uniformed officers on-site.
Source: Palo Alto Online
