Everyone has the right to demonstrate freely and peacefully for or against any cause. What is not acceptable is that these concentrations of people are used to attack urban furniture, or destroy and loot shops of all kinds.
These days we are seeing how there are many citizen protests against the death of George floyd when he was stopped by the police. But it is one thing to demonstrate in the street and protest, and quite another to take advantage of street riots to destroy shop windows and loot shops. Several have been Apple Stores.
Apple stores have become a target of opportunistic rioters during the street protests that are being lived all over the United States, with some outlets suffering significant window damage as well as theft by looters.
The death of an unarmed man, George Floyd, during a arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sparked protests in at least 30 cities in the United States. Protesters are seeking justice for Floyd, who died after a police officer used his knee to prop himself on the victim's neck as part of the arrest, with images of the incident circulating on social media and news sites and causing outrage from concerned citizens.
The protests have resulted in sources of violence, including property damage and looting, as some protesters take advantage of the situation to cause trouble. Due to the high price of Apple products, its stores have become targets for both window destruction and theft.
Looting in the Apple Store in different cities
En Portland, Oregon, the Apple Store in Pioneer Place had its windows smashed on all sides, the images and details provided by "Nate" reveal it. The store had only opened two days earlier, and will require extensive exterior repairs before it can be reopened to customers.
A video of the same store recorded by Zane Sparling from «The Portland Tribune»Shows people entering the closed store and fleeing with Apple products, including both display table units and stock left on the shelves.
Apple store in Portland being looted during protest pic.twitter.com/GqmGCOqRkt
- Zane Sparling (@PDXzane) May 30, 2020
En Minneapolis, the Hennepin Avenue Apple Store was vandalized Wednesday and ransacked Thursday night. The looters left the shop covered in extinguisher dust, with empty product display tables.
The state of emergency in Georgia forced all Apple Stores to close. Staff at the Avalon Apple Store are seen packing demo merchandise at the store Saturday night, in anticipation of riots and possible looting.
Protesters have also caused damage to an Apple Store in Scottsdale, Arizona Saturday night, along with other businesses and restaurants in the Scottsdale Waterfront and Scottsdale Fashion Square area, according to ABC15. The video was recorded showing dozens of people rushing to the Apple Store after breaking into the entrance, again in an attempt to grab iPhones and MacBooks.
The Apple store was looted and they were able to get into the mall through the Apple store. # fox10phoenix pic.twitter.com/YoUwRSbiRq
- Mario Fox10 (@ MVphotoFox10) May 31, 2020
En Washington D.C., a crowd gathered at an Apple Store in video captured by Caleb Hull. In the video, the store doors are forced open, with people rushing to loot and leaving nothing intact in the store.
The entire apple store in DC has been looted. There's nothing left. It took 7 minutes before a single cop showed up. pic.twitter.com/SijiCTcNjD
- Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) May 31, 2020
En Philadelphia, watchers saw people walking in and out of an Apple Store in another looting attempt. Outside the store, a police car was on fire.
COP CAR ON FIRE, APPLE STORE LOOTED IN PHILLY
pic.twitter.com/M1JH3H6ftd
- The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly)May 31, 2020- Smoke (@ Smoke56895160) May 31, 2020
PCMag's Michael Kan saw signs that looters attempted to access an Apple Store in San Francisco, a fruitless endeavor as there were no items on display to steal. The photos also show the lower windows covered around the sides of the storefront, while the taller glass panes were unprotected.
Looks like looters tried to break into the San Francisco Apple store. But no products inside anyway pic.twitter.com/24NNIIkswQ
- Michael Kan (@Michael_Kan) May 31, 2020
As part of its security policies, Apple uses special versions of its devices for its demo models, which are programmed to work only inside the store, and it is very difficult to make them operational. This means that the looting will be of little benefit to those who take products from the Apple Store.
https://twitter.com/onlyfanobtainer/status/1266933834064572416
