Wild video shows large mob ransacking Arco gas station in Compton, residents express fear
The group was seen grabbing everything from drinks, snacks, alcohol and even condoms.
COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) -- A large mob of looters was caught on video bum-rushing a gas station in Compton and stealing thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise, all while the clerk on duty hid inside.
It happened overnight at the Arco gas station near Alondra Boulevard and Central Avenue.
The video shows one man breaking the glass door while dozens of looters crowd behind him.
Moments later, the group was seen grabbing everything from drinks, snacks, alcohol and even condoms.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told Eyewitness News thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise was stolen and serious damage was done to the store.
"It's unbelievable. Unreal. I've never seen anything like that happen here," said Greg Johnson, a Compton resident and customer of the Arco looted.
Another Compton resident, Tamara, said just the fact that a mob of people went around the city scares her.
"The mob of people period," she said. "You don't know how they are going to react once they get in. And if someone is in there I know that they are terrified."
Investigators said shots were fired about a block away from the store raid though no injuries were reported.
Deputies with LASD's Compton station had been responding to several illegal street takeovers earlier in the night, LASD said.
Investigators said the two largest takeovers took place at the intersections of Long Beach Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue and near the gas station looting incident.
Both incidents involved illegal street racers with up to 500 people involved, investigators said. LASD said the two incidents both ended with break-ins and vandalism, including a break-in at a laundromat.
Though Compton station deputies had been responding to various incidents through the night, LASD said they are "currently limited with their staffed personnel" and "couldn't intervene with the giant takeover groups for safety concerns" and because they were "outnumbered."
One person was detained, but no arrests have been made.
Staff of the Arco tell ABC7 that the clerk who hid in the bathroom while the looting took place is doing okay.
Anyone with information on the incidents is urged to contact the sheriff's department.
