LA resident says gang of ‘100 people’ are roaming evacuated areas looting homes: report
“100 people that came up on scooters and were trying to get into any and all houses on this street.”
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“100 people that came up on scooters and were trying to get into any and all houses on this street.”
Gangs of apparent looters have been breaking into Californian's homes as they have been under evacuation orders to leave the areas in and around Los Angeles with multiple wildfires raging, according to a resident from the. As of Friday, the death toll has climbed to at least 10, and the blaze has forced some 130,000 to evacuate communities in an around Los Angeles.
KTLA reported that police confirmed a large group was in a neighborhood where the incident took place.
Resident Allison Agsten said, “We just started seeing all these cars pull up, doors open, groups of men running up our street, going up to the doors of these houses."
“My next-door neighbor said, ’There were like 100 people,’ that came up on scooters and were trying to get into any and all houses on this street,” Agsten added about the suspected gang of looters she saw.
On Wednesday, residents told reporters that they're worried about evacuating their homes due to looters. Reporter Haley Winslow said while reporting near the Eaton Fire, "It has turned into the wild wild west here. It is just complete insanity on all corners. Police are doing the best they can, they're seeing looters walking down the street with large TVs just taking advantage of what little this town has left,” per Newsweek.
Reporter Madisen Keavy also said she had a similar experience, "Our cameras saw three men on scooters immediately turn around when they saw police."
LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a press conference that 20 people have been arrested for looting in the wildfire evacuation zones this week, "Twenty individuals chose to go into our areas and deprive these poor people who have been through so much of their property.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman also sent a message to looters in a video posted to X, "Let me make it quite clear what's going to happen: The DA's office, working with law enforcement, is going to arrest you, they're going to prosecute you, and you will be punished to the full extent of the law. That's a promise."
On Thursday, two new fires ignited in Hollywood Hills as well as Studio City, adding to the challenges for firefighters who have not been able to contain some of the wildfires. One person has been arrested for arson concerning the Kenneth Fire that has already burned through at least 1,000 acres as of Friday morning.
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