A mob of shoplifting teenagers with sticky fingers has almost completely emptied a CVS store in the Washington, D.C., area, leaving the retailer’s shelves nearly empty.
Startling images from inside the pharmacy chain in D.C.’s Columbia Heights neighborhood show row after row of empty shelves, thanks to about 45 young people who have been targeting the store, Fox affiliate WTTG-TV reported.
“When you walk into this CVS, you think the store is closing because there’s barely anything on the shelves,” said WTTG reporter Sierra Fox.
“In fact, the only items in stock are those that are locked up. I asked an employee what gets stolen the most and they laughed and said, ‘Everything,’” she added.
According to store employees, the rowdy mob of minors routinely raid the store for chips, drinks and other items, and claim that street vendors also pay teenagers to hold items for the store that they then sell with curbside earnings.
Meanwhile, the Columbia Heights store only has one security guard to watch the merchandise.
Employees at a CVS in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., said dozens of teenagers routinely shoplift at the store, allegedly selling merchandise to nearby street vendors, leaving the shelves almost completely empty. FOX 5 DC “When you walk into this CVS, you think the store is closing because there is barely anything on the shelves,” said WTTG.FOX 5 DC reporter Sierra Fox.
“To be honest, I don’t feel like shopping there,” customer Ilana Miller told the outlet.
“I just go in and get my prescription and then when I need other things, I go somewhere else because there’s nothing to get,” she said.
Constant shoplifting and sudden swarms of thieves have put a dent in the profits of some of the country’s largest retailers, including CVS, Rite Aid and Target; The big-box retailer recently announced that he would close a store in East Harlem and eight other stores due to heavy losses.
Customer Ilana Miller said the shelves are so empty of thieves that she usually picks up her prescriptions and then leaves “because there’s nothing to get.” FOX 5 DC “The only items in stock are those that are locked up. “I asked an employee what gets stolen the most and they laughed and said, ‘Everything,’” Sierra Fox added.
“A lot of people can’t really afford to buy things at CVS,” DC resident Gerald Darling told WTTG.
“I’m not saying that stealing has to be the solution to that,” he added. “I don’t know, though, maybe if the city could provide more accessible resources to homeless or low-income people that can provide them with hair care, body care, and hygiene care, that might be an option.”
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn