Crime & Safety
AutoZone Looted During Street Takeover In South Los Angeles
The street takeover was another in a series of similar crimes in recent weeks.
LOS ANGELES, CA — An AutoZone store was looted during a street takeover Saturday morning in South Los Angeles, another in a series of similar crimes in recent weeks.
"At 1:27 a.m., in the area of Century Boulevard and Central Avenue, individuals entered a business and took items," the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Division reported. "Officers completed a burglary report."
Police noticed the store had been looted when they were called to the area because of a street takeover, according to KFI-AM.
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KTLA5 also reported that police were called about a street takeover at around 1:25 a.m. at Century Boulevard and Central Avenue near Ted Watkins Memorial Park.
According to reports from the scene, officers immediately requested backup and entered the store to clear it. They found that the front windows had been smashed and merchandise was scattered across the parking lot.
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No injuries or arrests were reported.
On July 21, police received reports of people breaking into an AutoZone near the intersection of South Main Street and Vernon Avenue, where a street takeover had been reported, the LA Times reported.
On June 16, an AutoZone in the Vermont Vista section of South Los Angeles was burglarized, and the same auto parts store was hit about a year ago during a street takeover, according to a Fox11 report, which showed the side of the building was tagged with graffiti.
Los Angeles Urban Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson called for more targeted police action to curb the takeovers and burglaries.
"The lack of immediate arrests in the trashing and vandalizing of an AutoZone by a mob sends the wrong signal. It only encourages more mob action," Hutchinson said Saturday. "I also call for the creation by LA city officials and the LAPD of an Anti Store Take Over Prevention Task Force to combat and stop the takeovers. Anything less ensures that they will continue causing massive damage to property and putting lives at risk."
— City News Service
