Police are hunting for 16 suspects after a mob of alleged looters struck an East Los Angeles AutoZone twice in a 24-hour period. The suspects allegedly forced their way into the storeon South Atlantic Boulevard at around 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 9, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, causing significant damage and losses.
Investigators believe some of those suspects may have also taken part in the first burglary less than 24 hours earlier.
That attack began around 2:22 a.m. on Aug. 8, when one person allegedly smashed the store’s glass entrance doors and 10 others poured inside.
Authorities described the resulting smash-and-grab as a “coordinated, mob-like burglary.”
Detectives had already appealed for help identifying 11 suspects from the first break-in when authorities announced the search for an additional 16.
The criminal free-for-all unfolded alongside street takeovers near Olympic and Atlantic boulevards.
Sheriff’s officials previously said that spectators at the first takeover were believed to have ransacked the AutoZone.
At a second street takeover the next night, more than 100 vehicles swarmed the intersection near the store, according to earlier reports.
Some in the crowd allegedly broke away and descended on the AutoZone, which had already been boarded up after Saturday’s looting.
Video showed people, many with their faces covered, breaking into the battered store and making off with merchandise.
Images showed shattered glass covering the front walkway, with car batteries, wiper fluid and auto accessories scattered across the floor.
At least $50,000 in merchandise and three cash registers were reportedly stolen.
Break-ins were also reported at AutoZone stores in Watts, Downey and Long Beach amid street-takeover activity across the Los Angeles area that weekend.
The East LA chaos was part of a broader weekend of disorder in which two separate street takeovers erupted into fires and looting in East Los Angeles and the Gramercy Park neighborhood.
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