A group of up to 30 people robbed a Best Buy store in Minnesota on Black Friday, police said. File Photo by Lynn Watson/Shutterstock.com
Nov. 27 (UPI) — A group of up to 30 people swarmed through a Best Buy store in Minnesota on Black Friday, stealing electronics before police arrived, authorities said.
The store in Burnsville, Minn., about 20 miles south of downtown Minneapolis, was robbed shortly after 8 p.m., the Burnsville Police Department told WCCO-TV.
Burnsville police Capt. Don Stenger said no weapons were seen and no injuries were reported, the Star Tribune reported.
“We don’t know exactly what was taken or the dollar value,” Stenger added.
Authorities also said a smaller group of thieves also broke into another Best Buy in the St. Paul, Minn., suburb of Maplewood.
No arrests had been made as of Saturday morning.
The Minnesota incident is similar to a rash of brazen “smash-and-grab” robberies by organized groups recently reported in California.
Los Angeles police arrested three people Monday after a group of at least 20 broke into a Nordstrom department store at The Grove shopping center. Surveillance footage from the scene showed the thieves used a sledgehammer to break a window and enter the store.
Police in Walnut Creek, Calif., arrested three people a day earlier after a group of about 80 broke into and ransacked another Nordstrom store.
Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said earlier this week that increasingly brazen and violent thefts are affecting company profits and making it harder to retain employees.
Organized thieves are wielding weapons such as a guns or crowbars in increasingly frequent attacks, she told CNBC.
“These are traumatic experiences, and they are happening more and more across the country,” Barry said.
A group of up to 30 people robbed a Best Buy store in Minnesota on Black Friday, police said. File Photo by Lynn Watson/Shutterstock.com Nov. 27 (UPI) — A group of up to 30 people swarmed through a Best Buy store in Minnesota on Black Friday, stealing electronics before police arrived, authorities said. The store in Burnsville, Minn., about 20 miles south of downtown Minneapolis, was robbed shortly after 8 p.m., the Burnsville Police Department told WCCO-TV. Burnsville police Capt. Don Stenger said no weapons were seen and no injuries were reported, the Star Tribune reported. “We don’t know exactly what was taken or the dollar value,” Stenger added. Authorities also said a smaller group of thieves also broke into another Best Buy in the St. Paul, Minn., suburb of Maplewood. No arrests had been made as of Saturday morning. The Minnesota incident is similar to a rash of brazen “smash-and-grab” robberies by organized groups recently reported in California. Los Angeles police arrested three people Monday after a group of at least 20 broke into a Nordstrom department store at The Grove shopping center. Surveillance footage from the scene showed the thieves used a sledgehammer to break a window and enter the store. Police in Walnut Creek, Calif., arrested three people a day earlier after a group of about 80 broke into and ransacked another Nordstrom store. Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said earlier this week that increasingly brazen and violent thefts are affecting company profits and making it harder to retain employees. Organized thieves are wielding weapons such as a guns or crowbars in increasingly frequent attacks, she told CNBC. “These are traumatic experiences, and they are happening more and more across the country,” Barry said.