Violent mob assaults 7-Eleven clerk, ransacks store in Southern California

Video obtained by KTLA shows a violent mob attack at a 7-Eleven store in Orange County Sunday that left a store clerk with a bloody nose, authorities confirmed to KTLA.

The violence unfolded at around 1:30 a.m. at a 7-Eleven store located at 550 South Knott Avenue in Anaheim, police said.

In the footage, a mob of mostly masked males are seen pulling the door of the convenience store open as a clerk, armed with something that appears to be like a broomstick, attempts to keep the group out.  

While the clerk was trying to keep the door closed, video shows him get hit in the stomach and crouch before taking an uppercut from a male in a gray hoodie.  

When the clerk, seemingly stunned from the blows, steps back, the mob moves forward but quickly retreats when the clerk raises his makeshift weapon and charges them.  

The male in the gray hoodie immediately returns to the door, forces his way inside, appearing to threaten the clerk with more violence when the mob swarms the store behind him and begins ransacking it.  

Several males are seen jumping on top of the counter while other are seen running out of the store with cases of beer and soda. At least one female can be seen in the video inside the store.

Amid the chaos, several shelves stocked with products were pulled down.  

The clerk, still attempting to defend the store, can be seen facing off with the mob on the other side of the downed shelving when he’s violently assaulted from behind by another male and is knocked to the ground.  

The mob is heard laughing as the clerk goes to the ground, yelling in pain.  

Flash-mob style robberies at 7-Eleven convenient stores have been an ongoing problem in Southern California.  

In Los Angeles, between Friday, July 12 and Friday, Sept. 20, there were 14 separate robberies across the 10 stores in LAPD’s Rampart, Hollywood, Wilshire and West L.A. divisions.   

Several teenagers have been arrested and charged with robbery in connection with the L.A. incidents after their parents spotted them in surveillance footage released by authorities and turned them in to police.  

As for this most recent incident in Anaheim, it’s unclear just how much the mob was able to get away with.  

Police said the group of 40-50 suspects fled the scene before authorities arrived and no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information related to this investigation is encouraged to contact the Anaheim Police Department. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the Orange County Crime Stoppers Hotline at 855-TIP-OCCS.