Shoplifters Make Effective Use Of Their Time, Dash Out Of Store With Rolling Racks

coatsWhen you hear the word “shoplifting,” you might picture one person slipping a few small items into her purse, or a person layering extra clothes under their jacket in the fitting room. That’s not how large shoplifting operations roll. Literally roll, in the case of these thieves who took a few racks of merchandise out of a Sports Authority store near Chicago.

Shoplifting is now a fast-paced extreme sport. Sweeping entire shelves into bags! Steering entire racks out the door at a high rate of speed! News outlets keep calling this a “flash mob robbery,” but that term implies something that’s fun. Here, the robbers enter the store, pretend to browse a bit, and then each grab hold of a rack of clothing and run for the door.

Videos? Oh yes, we’ve got videos. Unfortunately, they won’t embed here on our site without auto-playing, so you’ll have to go to WGN and NBC to watch them Watch out: they automatically play when you load the page.

Remarkably, they are still at large. The Chicago police are now offering a $5,000 reward for any information leading to their arrest. If you see someone run past you with a rack of coats, call 1-877-872-6959.

In the meantime, stores with rolling racks in the Chicago area should check to see whether those wheels have locks.

VIDEO: Sports Authority flash mob robbery captured on security video [WGN] (WARNING: AUTO-PLAY VIDEO)
WATCH: Flash Mob Thieves Rob Chicago-Area Sports Authority Stores [NBC Chicago] (WARNING: AUTO-PLAY VIDEO)

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