naisho
Forum Disorders M.D.,Ph.D
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- Nov 6, 2006
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Wow, this is a new kind of robbery. Using facebook or whatever to mob rob! 
A new phenomenon in which large groups of miscreants suddenly converge on businesses to steal goods , using their sheer number to overwhelm security , has come to the Ottawa area.
The so-called " flash robs " originated south of the border. They involve crowds of young people rushing into a store and grabbing goods , and apparently using social media to organize the thefts .
In one incident last week, a group of men and women in Georgetown , Wash. plundered a luxury lingerie store.
And the trend appears to have moved north of the 49th parallel.
Two cases have taken place in Ottawa in recent weeks. In one incident , more than 40 people mobbed a convenience store just before midnight. They came in waves , and wound up costing the store' s owners $ 800 in stolen food and damages. "What can we do?" asked Elias Dxafaii, a cashier at the store. "We cannot do everything. We can try to say to them , ‘It 's not good. You will be on the (security ) camera. '"
A second recent case unfolded at an Ottawa grocery store.
"Anyone in the store could have been hurt ," said Tom Wilson , who owns the store."Some of them started to knock products off of the shelves and actually break stuff .Once they heard the breaking sound, a lot of them just started to run , panic , and they left the store. "
Police said they' re hoping to stop flash robberies from happening while they're still in the planning stage .
"It 's the use of social media and the ability to use technology to organize and gather," said Sgt . Murray Knowles with the Ottawa police .
Investigators are using the same technology to try to catch the culprits, creating Facebook profiles to look for leads , Knowles said .
Meanwhile some convenience store owners have taken matters into their own hands .
"We have alarms. We are connected to the police . We put in cameras. We put in all that, spend all the money to make sure it 's safer for us and the employees," said Moe Atallah, who downsized his Ottawa convenience store for fear it could be targeted.
With a report from CTV Ottawa 's Stefanie Masotti
CTV British Columbia - 'Flash mobs' give way to unsettling trend: 'flash robs' - CTV News
oops, fixed that for ya my friend. :P
A new phenomenon in which large groups of miscreants suddenly converge on businesses to steal goods , using their sheer number to overwhelm security , has come to the Ottawa area.
The so-called " flash robs " originated south of the border. They involve crowds of young people rushing into a store and grabbing goods , and apparently using social media to organize the thefts .
In one incident last week, a group of men and women in Georgetown , Wash. plundered a luxury lingerie store.
And the trend appears to have moved north of the 49th parallel.
Two cases have taken place in Ottawa in recent weeks. In one incident , more than 40 people mobbed a convenience store just before midnight. They came in waves , and wound up costing the store' s owners $ 800 in stolen food and damages. "What can we do?" asked Elias Dxafaii, a cashier at the store. "We cannot do everything. We can try to say to them , ‘It 's not good. You will be on the (security ) camera. '"
A second recent case unfolded at an Ottawa grocery store.
"Anyone in the store could have been hurt ," said Tom Wilson , who owns the store."Some of them started to knock products off of the shelves and actually break stuff .Once they heard the breaking sound, a lot of them just started to run , panic , and they left the store. "
Police said they' re hoping to stop flash robberies from happening while they're still in the planning stage .
"It 's the use of social media and the ability to use technology to organize and gather," said Sgt . Murray Knowles with the Ottawa police .
Investigators are using the same technology to try to catch the culprits, creating Facebook profiles to look for leads , Knowles said .
Meanwhile some convenience store owners have taken matters into their own hands .
"We have alarms. We are connected to the police . We put in cameras. We put in all that, spend all the money to make sure it 's safer for us and the employees," said Moe Atallah, who downsized his Ottawa convenience store for fear it could be targeted.
With a report from CTV Ottawa 's Stefanie Masotti
CTV British Columbia - 'Flash mobs' give way to unsettling trend: 'flash robs' - CTV News
oops, fixed that for ya my friend. :P
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I live in this city. I will get back to this thread when I get home. 
fixed! My bad.