Flash Mob Steals From Baltimore 7-Eleven; Beats Store Manager Who Tries To Stop Them
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Another mob of juveniles causes problems in downtown Baltimore. This time, it happens inside a 7-Eleven where dozens of kids came for free Slurpees but ended up stealing much more.
Derek Valcourt reports.
The entire incident was caught on video. But city police and managers at the 7-Eleven have refused to let WJZ see that video. But there are plenty of people in that busy area of town who saw it all unfold.
A nationwide 7-Eleven free Slurpee giveaway brought 35 to 40 kids into the Light Street store around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
"It was a lot of kids and they were out of control," Kesha Chester, who was at the store at the time, said.
While some kids lined up for the free Slurpee, witnesses saw other kids raiding the candy shelves.
"They went in, they started going everywhere in the store, grabbing things and then they just run out. And I knew that they didn't buy it because they just run out," Kendra Mellerson said. "They ran that way and they ran that way. And the guy was trying to come out and stop them but they couldn't because there was so many."
After some kids ran away, a store manager blocked the door to keep the rest of the kids from leaving. But those kids got so mad that the door was blocked, they started punching the store manager.
"Yes, they really started hitting that guy and he couldn't keep getting beat on so he eventually let them out. And then they just ran," Mellerson said.
What happened at the store is the latest example of large groups of young people creating havoc in downtown Baltimore.
On St. Patrick's Day, police broke up several fights and disturbances as crowds of teens gathered in the Inner Harbor.
That same night, another group beat and robbed a tourist. Cameras have spotted large groups of teens roaming streets in November and caught big fights on July 4, all of it upsetting to downtown workers.
"I'm really appalled at the behavior of these teenagers. When the kids are running rampant, running amok, where are the parents?" asked one person.
The juveniles were all wearing yellow shirts and khaki pants. Police are trying to figure out what school they came from.
Police declined to be interviewed for this story.
