Teenagers who carried out flash mob robberies at a string of 7-Eleven convenience stores in Los Angeles were turned in to police after their parents spotted them on surveillance video.
Officials say that from July 12 to September 20 a gang of between 20 and 40 youths hit 14 stores and fled on bicycles.
In the video posted by the Los Angeles Police Department last month, the group of teens can be seen brazenly grabbing items and damaging shelves before leaving the scene. The youths, who did not take any cash, also hurled bananas at employees and smashed windows, reported Fox11LA.
All but one of the robberies took place on Friday evenings and happened in neighborhoods across the city.
Now authorities say that the parents of the three juveniles had come forward to identify their kids and turn them in after recognizing them in video footage.
One of the teens has been booked for robbery, Assistant Chief Blake Chow revealed during Tuesday’s L.A. Board of Police Commissioners meeting.
“On September 26, the Organized Retail Crime Task Force responded to the Northeast Area where a parent had brought their juvenile child in, who was involved in a flash robbery. The child was booked for robbery,” Chow said during the meeting.
“On September 28, another parent in Southwest Area brought their child into the station. That juvenile was booked for robbery in connection with a 7-Eleven flash robbery. On September 29, a similar situation occurred in 77th, where the parent turned the child in. That juvenile was also booked for robbery.”
The stores, which reportedly suffered $30,000 in damages were in Rampart, Hollywood, Wilshire, and West LA.
LAPD Detective Samuel Arnold said: “When you see these images and when you see the videos, they’re going in there laughing. They’re smiling…It’s almost as if they’re having a good time”, reported CBS.
He added: “They’re also just completely destroying the place. They’re vandalizing it.”
“We don’t want to instill fear in juveniles and youths but we want them to understand that there are consequences”, Arnold told Fox11LA.
Typically, the suspects – described as “youthful males, possibly teens varying in ethnicity and physical descriptors” – would descend on the stores en masse barging past people in the store “with no regard for others’ safety”, police said.
No members of the public have been physically injured in any of the attacks but people fear for their safety in the wake of such aggressive behavior, LAPD added. The force has increased patrols and is using an Organised Regional Crime Taskforce to crack down on the rebellious and havoc-making teens.
Arnold added: “We will be coming into your house, we’ll be coming into your school and you got to stop because it’s not going to be a freebie.”
LAPD encouraged anyone with information, tips, videos, or photos to contact them.
