By the Daily Post staff
Two masked men looted the downtown Palo Alto Apple Store early Wednesday (April 10) morning after smashing the glass front door with a rock, according to police.
The burglars made off with three MacBook Airs and four MacBook Pros worth a total of $11,893. Two more MacBook Airs were found on the sidewalk outside the store at 340 University Ave. along with the shattered door and a rock. A passer-by reported the smash around 1:50 a.m. yesterday, which is when the glass was shattered, according to the store’s surveillance footage.
One of the men was wearing all black and the other wore black pants and a gray sweatshirt. Police didn’t have any information about the burglars and haven’t made any arrests.
The store has been a frequent target of shoplifting and this wasn’t the first time the glass door has been smashed by burglars.
September alone saw three major heists in which burglars netted more than $100,000 in merchandise.
On Sept. 1, four burglars grabbed $40,000 in Apple products as bystanders watched or shot video of the scene with their iPhones.
In late September, eight men between the ages of 16 and 25 grabbed $57,000 in merchandise while the store was open.
The next morning, a passer-by told police there was a gaping hole in the plate-glass doors in front of the store: four burglars had smashed the door overnight and grabbed almost $10,000 in merchandise.
In December 2016, 10 Oakland residents under the age of 21 rammed a gray 2016 Kia Soul into the front of the store and entered through the hold to steal 42 items worth $40,000.
Apple doesn’t care if they passively encourage criminal behaviers. They are covered by insurance, and these news are free publicity.
Apple should consider using durable plexiglass for their front door. It won’t shatter like a glass door does.
IMHO, Apple invites these crimes with their “in your face” store fronts that seek to make a bold, self-serving presence rather than fit into the existing community. They want attention – they are getting it.
And my family owns mostly Apple products.
Part of Apple’s conundrum is that if they choose to speak to the public at large about this epidemic, they may have to admit that nearly all, if not all of the perpetrators in these incidents over the last few years are black. And apparently Apple just would rather not deal with this. So it seems they’ll simply tolerate it, which is insane on it’s face.