During a street takeover in Anaheim early Sunday morning, authorities say a mob violently forced its way into a nearby 7-Eleven, ransacked it and assaulted the store clerk.
At 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, Anaheim police officers responded to calls of an illegal street takeover at the intersection of Orange and Knott avenues.
As officers were heading to the scene, they received an additional call of a robbery at the 7-Eleven convenience store at the same intersection, said Sgt. Matt Sutter, a police spokesperson.
“There was a delay in response because all the street racers were blocking the intersection and nearby streets,” Sutter said.
By the time officers reached the store, the suspects had fled.
An unknown number of people were inside the store for about two minutes, ransacked it and assaulted the store clerk, leaving him with a bloody nose, according to the Police Department.
In a video of the assault posted on Instagram, two masked men can be seen trying to forcibly pull open the 7-Eleven doors while yelling, “Watch out,” to the clerk, who is holding onto the doors and trying to keep them closed.
When the men succeed in pulling the doors open, they strike the clerk in the abdomen and scuffle with him before retreating briefly.
As group then pushes into the store, the clerk tries to defend himself with what appears to be a metal rod, but he is repeatedly struck as others in the group steal merchandise, knock over displays and jump onto the cashier counter, the video shows.
At one point the clerk can be seen on the ground, yelling and holding his chest as people from the crowd are recording with their phones and laughing.
The looters stole the store’s cash register and the total loss from the robbery is unknown, according to police.
Anyone with information about the assault is asked to call Orange County Crime Stoppers at (855) 847-6227.
Sutter said the street takeover and robbery were the first such incident he was aware of in the city of Anaheim, although similar episodes have been on the rise in other parts of Southern California.
“This is getting our full attention because this may occur in other counties, but it’s new to Orange County and we’re going to stop this before it gets started,” Sutter said.