Dozens of people were seen looting an Auto Zone in the Vermont Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles shortly after a street takeover was reported Monday morning.
Police received a call shortly before 4 a.m. of a street takeover in the area of Century Boulevard and Hoover Street, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson confirmed.
Minutes later, another call reported around 50 people had broken into a nearby Auto Zone and were taking items.
Video showed looters prying open a metal security gate and entering the store after breaking a glass door and window.
A man in a red hoodie with his face covered was seen among the people carrying merchandise out of the store.
Several auto parts, including a car battery, were lying in front of the Auto Zone after the crowd left.
Arriving officers tried to stop a vehicle that fled the location and a short pursuit ensued, the spokesperson told KTLA.
The suspect entered the freeway at one point, prompting assistance from the California Highway Patrol.
The suspect was eventually taken into custody on Pepper Street and East Sycamore Avenue in El Segundo, police said. One arrest was made.
No details regarding the street takeover were immediately available but residents said it’s an ongoing problem.
“The street takeover right here. It’s ridiculous,” area resident Joe Nathan Clark Jr. said. “Like every two days, there’s an accident right here.”
The incident remains under investigation.
