A “street takeover” in Compton, California, led to a mom-and-pop bakery getting ransacked and robbed by a wild group of thugs, not even two days into 2024, video footage revealed Tuesday.
Video obtained by ABC7 shows a mob of looters raiding the longstanding Ruben’s Bakery & Mexican Foodstore near the intersection of El Segundo Boulevard and Santa Fe Avenue, stealing merchandise and entire cash registers.
“Dozens” of young men and women broke into the small business by ramming a white Kia Soul through the building, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the bakery.
The incident occurred around 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, just over 24 hours into the new year.
The bakery sits in a location that is especially popular for street takeovers to occur, reported the outlet.
One local woman said that police are constantly in the area due to such events.
“It’s kind of normal for us now, which is kind of sad to say,” she said. “I’m kind of like desensitized to it because it happens so often, but this was kind of like, the last straw. I’m not too sure what to do about it.”
The Compton Sheriff’s Station said that around 100 people participated in that street takeover, some of whom burned trash and debris in the road before the mob took over the shop.
The criminals took off when police arrived, and no arrests have yet been made in connection to the ransacked bakery.
The owners of Ruben’s Bakery lost a reported $20,000 that they worked hard to earn over the holidays, and will also face expensive repair charges.
Police also said that the same vehicle used to crash into the building was involved in a pursuit earlier that day, but it was unclear why authorities were originally chasing the driver. The sheriff’s department noted that they couldn’t continue the pursuit after deputies lost sight of the vehicle.
The surrounding block houses several other small businesses, family homes, and a pre-school.
An anonymous school employee told ABC7, “It’s terrifying to know that we have a pre-school right across the street and there’s people doing things like this.”
“I was hoping to run into the owner just to ask to see if they need anything from us or any kind of support,” they added. “We’re here for them.”
Illegal street takeovers typically feature a group of people blocking off an intersection with their vehicles in order to use the space for dangerous driving, racing, and other car tricks.
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