Caught On Camera: Masked Man Steals 50 iPhones From US Apple Store In Broad Daylight

A video showing a thief committing a brazen, daytime robbery at an Apple Store in the US is going viral on social media. In the clip, a masked man wearing all black clothing goes from table to table, ripping phones from their display and placing them into his pockets. He takes dozens of phones, costing hundreds of dollars each, before making a hasty exit. Surprisingly enough, the video also shows a police car on the street. However, the cops said that there were no officers in the area at the time of the theft and the vehicle was not occupied. 

According to CBS News, the incident took place on Monday at an Apple Store in Emeryville, California. The man made off with around 50 iPhones that were kept on display at the store. The police said that they were notified about the theft on Monday morning. The caller told the cops that the suspect had fled in a vehicle with the phones, which were valued at $49,230 (approximately Rs 4,086,000). 

Watch the video below: 

Apple store 🫣 robbery pic.twitter.com/K2iN2ZSSN5

— fix Apple 🍏 (@lipilipsi) February 7, 2024

Emeryville Police Department clarified the police vehicle in the video was a "ghost car," which they said is used to deter crime. The vehicle did not have any officers inside, they said. 

"The police vehicle out front of the store is the department's 'ghost car' which is parked at various locations to be a police presence, to try and prevent criminal activity. No EPD Officer was present was [sic] this crime occurred," EPD said, as per Fox News. 

The police identified the suspect in the video as Tyler Mims, a 22-year-old Berkeley native. According to the outlet, he has been booked on three counts of conspiracy, three counts of burglary, three counts of grand theft and three counts of organised retail theft. He is currently being held at the Santa Rail Jail in Dublin. The 22-year-old is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

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Meanwhile, the video of the robbery has surfaced on several social media platforms and collectively accumulated millions of views. In the comments section, one user wrote, "Stealing these makes no sense. Not only are they traceable and trackable they are locked as stolen the moment the store employees mark them in the system. They aren't useable for anything except maybe a WiFi device for apps if someone came fresh load software". 

"The saddest part of that video is that it's so common to see this happen, no one cares or tries to stop it. Not even the police," expressed a second.