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Join Telegram ChannelThe owner of an Oakland, California, gas station was the victim of a lightning robbery that saw dozens of criminals ransack the business on Friday, especially after police reportedly took hours to respond.
“My aunts, my uncles, were talking about [how] “The United States is a place to be, and then you go over there and you see something like this happen, and it's scary. It just shouldn't be happening,” Sam Mardaie, a Yemeni immigrant whose store was damaged by about $100,000, told Fox News on Sunday.
“It's just incredible,” he added.
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The image (left) shows the flash mob trashing the Oakland gas station. Owner Sam Mardaie is pictured on the right. (KTVU/Fox & Friends Weekend)
According to the New York Post, Mardaie estimates that between 80 and 100 people broke into the gas station last week after attending a nearby car show, tore through shelves and stole whatever they could grab — including $25,000 from the cash register.
The report said the thieves were reportedly frustrated because the 24/7 store only offered window service at night.
The entire incident was caught on camera and criminals were seen stealing items from fridges, grabbing things from behind the counter and stealing items from shelves.
Mardaie told “Fox & Friends Weekend” that he had worked for 10 months since the store opened to build his customer base, but it was all destroyed in an hour.
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This image from FOX affiliate KTVU shows thieves stealing items from the store's refrigerator. (KTVU)
According to the Washington Post, Mardaie claims it took nine hours for police to respond to his calls for help. Returning to his dissatisfaction with the police response on Sunday, he called it “unacceptable.”
“We have not received any response from them,” he said, adding that he was due to meet the local police chief on Wednesday.
“We have not received any apology from them, not even an apology. [for] “They didn't even show up, they didn't even have the courtesy to show up. I would understand if they came an hour or two later after the incident, but not until 2:30 p.m. That's when they showed up,” he added.
Two employees were in the store at the time of the incident and were threatened by suspects, according to FOX 2, an affiliate based in California's Bay Area, which includes Oakland.
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Crime in the San Francisco Bay Area remains a major concern for business owners and residents, who say they need to be extra vigilant. (Fox News)
In a statement to FOX 2, local law enforcement “said they received and responded to the call of a burglary at a nearby 76 gas station approximately 90 minutes later and initially classified the crime as a Priority 2 — meaning no suspects were on scene and the crime can be reported online.”
The outlet also said that after video of the incident was sent to local police, they classified the crime as priority 1 and sent an officer to the scene.
Local law enforcement also told the outlet they were responding to an incident at the nearby airport.
Fox News had also previously reached out to local police for comment.
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Fox News' Brie Stimson contributed to this report.