A day after a violent mob of 40-50 people, many of whom had likely been participating or spectating at a nearby illegal street takeover in Orange County, overran a 7-Eleven, assaulted the clerk and ransacked the store, the clerk and police are speaking out.
The chaotic incident, which was filmed by a person just outside the store, occurred at an Anaheim 7-Eleven location at 550 South Knott Avenue, near the intersection of Orange Avenue, around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
In footage of the terrifying attack, the clerk is seen trying to hold the doors closed as several males violently yank it open, deliver a blow to his stomach causing him to double over before receiving a brutal uppercut punch to the face from another male.
That punch left him with a bloodied nose.
The clerk, now identified as Narinder, recovered quickly and threatened the suspects with what appeared to be a broomstick-like weapon, forcing them back outside.
Narinder, who primarily speaks Hindi, spoke to KTLA through a translator and said while he’s recovering and feels okay, he is still scared.
“They tried to hit him on the head,” the translator told KTLA’s Shelby Nelson.
Moments after the initial assault, he’s again threatened inside the store by the same male who threw the uppercut, this time with what looks like a piece of concrete.
As Narinder stands his ground, the mob swarms the store and begins looting, stealing cigarettes, beer, lottery tickets and other merchandise, as well as overturning shelves during the chaotic raid.
Still trying to defend the store, Narinder took yet another blow from a male who snuck up behind him and viciously knocked him to the ground, a move that the mob cheered and laughed at as they quickly dispersed before police arrived.
The incident, according to Anaheim Police Department Sgt. Matt Sutter, occurred as a street takeover with an estimated 100 cars was unfolding in the area.
“Our response was delayed because there were so many cars in the area,” he explained. “It was hard to get our officers up to the 7-Eleven.”
Similar flash-mob style robberies in Los Angeles, 14 of them between July 12 and Sept. 20, have yielded some arrests after parents spotted their kids in robbery footage released by LAPD and turned them in to authorities.
In Anaheim, Sgt. Sutter said detectives are looking at the surveillance footage of the incident, as well as video of the robbery posted to social media in hopes of potentially identifying at least some of the suspects who were not masked.
When asked why he thinks 7-Elevens are being targeted, he pointed to the time of the incident as a possibility.
“I don’t want to speculate on their motives, but there’s not a lot of stores open at this hour and that may be one of the contributing factors,” he said before adding, “This is rare in Anaheim and Orange County and this is not something we’re going to tolerate.”
A day after a violent mob of 40-50 people, many of whom had likely been participating or spectating at a nearby illegal street takeover in Orange County, overran a 7-Eleven, assaulted the clerk and ransacked the store, the clerk and police are speaking out. The chaotic incident, which was filmed by a person just […]
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