In what appears to be part of a recent crime trend, around 30 bike-riding teens flocked to a supermarket near USC before shoplifting out of the store and attacking two men with homophobic slander and rocks.
Their actions follow a similar pattern of a large group of teenagers over the past few months regarding bikes stealing from stores and attacking drivers in the city.
Police both arrested at least two individuals in connection with a previous violent attack on a driver near Beverly Hills in February.
The latest incident was carried by a group of teenage boys on the Ralphs market on South Vermont Avenue near USC around 4:30pm on Saturday, according to reports from eyewitnesses and emergency radio dispatch. According to Brian Benson, who was on the checkout line with her then-husband, the teenager stole bottles of cocktails, Gatorade bottles and other items from the market.
“I heard someone scream, ‘Oh, they’re stealing,'” Benson said. “I almost heard the comedy.”
The guards yelled at them, and he began recording on his phone as several teenagers ran towards the exit with items in their arms. You can hear alarms inside the store for Benson’s cell phone recordings. Several teenagers returned to the store multiple times and threw items at store employees. At one point, security guards used pepper spray on teens, Benson said.
Upon walking out of the market, Benson and his husband saw teenagers gather near their cars. The couple got into the car and Benson squealed the horns to encourage the teens to get out of the way. Some of them moved, but others didn’t, Benson said.
That was when teens began making homophobic comments, Benson said. In his dash cam video, Benson can be seen stopping his car as his husband rolls the window and asks the teen to repeat the slur. The teens asked if they were gay, Benson said.
Infuriated, the men stated that they were together and kissed each other.
The teens near the car screamed, and when Benson left, the teenager threw his body into the driver’s side of the car. Other teens can be seen in the video kicking the video. Benson said she got out of the car with pepper spray and her husband came out of the stun gun. They drove away a group nearby the car, but Benson used pepper spray at least once when several individuals approached the car again.
“I think we both understand that we are both caught up in action and surrounded by teens who are instantly damaging our property and pose an immediate threat to us,” Benson said. “Neither of us was interested in being passive victims of hate crimes in our own neighborhood.”
When the two left, someone threw a rock at the driver’s window, and footage of the dash cam shows.
Los Angeles police said Benson’s windows were damaged and he received a report of assault with fatal weapons and vandalism.
Police said an investigation is ongoing and there is no additional information. LAPD said it cannot say whether the teenage group has been linked to other incidents reported in the city in recent months.
A spokesman for Kroger, the parent company of Ralphs, said he knows a group of young people who took items from the store without paying.
“No injuries occurred, but we take the safety of our peers and customers very seriously,” the statement said. “We report this incident to local law enforcement agencies and are fully cooperating with their investigation. As always, we continue to take proactive steps to maintain a safe and secure environment in our stores.”
Benson said he and his husband are currently considering purchasing a firearm.
“This is insane given the threat we have in mind, given that this is a middle school group,” he said.
Benson, the creative director of a marketing agency, said he created a website to create public reports on teenagers in the field.
Approximately two hours before the couple got used to the group, they were surrounded by teens on their bikes before being punched in the face of USC village, according to crime logs reported at the university.
USC campus police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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