A ‘flash mob’ of looters in Los Angeles caught on camera ransacking 7-Eleven

A ‘flash mob’ of looters was filmed trashing a 7-Eleven in Los Angeles earlier this week – fleeing with handfuls of cigarettes, snacks and other possessions, authorities said.

Video clips released by LAPD show dozens of people, many not bothering to hide their faces, grabbing various items as they thronged the chain of stores shortly after midnight on Monday in the Harbor Gateway section of the city.

Part of the footage even shows the rowdy group going behind the counter that was apparently freed by 7-Eleven employees and throwing things at a group of people on the other side.

Snacks, drinks, cigarettes, lottery tickets and other merchandise were all removed from the store which was also vandalized, according to police. Looters also reportedly threw items at store employees.

After leaving the store, the crowd of suspects quickly left the area before cops arrived, police said.

The robberies took place during a street takeover where drivers flooded and blocked a city intersection with their vehicles from all directions to create a ‘pit’ in the middle of it, police said .

Onlookers got out of their cars and saw the drivers start « doing donuts », authorities said.

« The term ‘flash mob’ was first used to describe a large public gathering in which people perform an unusual or seemingly random act and then disperse, usually organized by means of the internet or social media, » said the LAPD said in a statement.

« In the latest cases, however, ‘flash mobs’ have gone from fun spontaneous events to opportunistic criminal events. »

Police were seeking the public’s help in apprehending the suspects.