A mob of robbers ransacked an Oakland gas station convenience store and caused thousands of dollars in damage after the store’s frustrated manager claimed it took police nine hours to respond to his plea for help.
A crowd, which had just attended a sideshow nearby, entered the 76 station near San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport around 4:30 a.m. Friday, according to ABC 7 News Bay Area.
Owner Sam Mardaie estimated that about 80 to 100 people broke through the front door of his store and grabbed whatever they could get their hands on.
“Shelves were ripped off, all the groceries were torn, trampled or vandalized,” Mardaie told the media.
Video surveillance taken from the spot showed the robbers grabbing drinks from refrigerators, food items from shelves, boxes and baskets belonging to the store and a television.
Some climbed over the register and looted items from under the counter.
The crowd was reportedly upset that they were not allowed inside the store as the business only offered window service, a normal occurrence for the 24/7 store during the night hours.
Approximately $25,000 in cash was taken from the store’s register and ATM, but the robbers were unable to reach the safe.
Two employees inside the store were threatened during the mass robbery, which lasted about 40 minutes, Mardaie told KTVU.
“This is the hardest thing you can ever go through…especially if you’ve been sweating and crying every day,” the frustrated owner told the newspaper.
Maradie says he and his family took over the business in August 2023.
“You build yourself up for the last ten months and then you’re back at square one,” he added.
A call was made to Oakland police, but the dispatcher informed the caller that the crime was listed as Priority 2 since no suspects were at the scene, adding that it could be reported online.
It wasn’t until a video of the mass robbery was shared with the department that it was raised to Priority 1 and an officer was dispatched to the store nine hours after the robbery began, according to KTVU.
Police explained to the outlet that officers had responded to a sideshow near the airport that had over 100 cars and later responded to a burglary 90 minutes later.
Customers of the store shared their fears about the ongoing crime in the area.
“It’s very depressing, I’m afraid to go out after dark and I don’t know it’s just alarming,” customer Ebony Bolton told KTVU.
A recent spike in crime in Oakland forced several restaurant chains to close their stores in the area and prompted one family to withdraw their son from a local college.
Station 76 is located in the same area where In-N-Out closed its only Oakland location in March due to out-of-control crime and for the safety of their customers.
In February, a Texas lawyer offered a $10,000 reward after her son, who had refueled his rental car, was robbed at gunpoint at the same gas station, according to CBS News.
“It’s crazy. I mean it’s a daily thing. Not a day has gone by since we opened in August that we haven’t had an incident,” Mardaie told the media at the time.
“I come from Yemen, a third world country, and we don’t have those incidents in a third world country where there is no law and order.”