Philadelphia convenience stores 'closing left and right' due to rise in brazen thefts
"Nobody wants to run the business in the city of Philadelphia. Very dangerous," said Manzoor Chughtai.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A number of convenience stores in the Philadelphia region are closing up shop due to an increase in brazen shoplifting incidents.
Just before 11 p.m. on Tuesday night, five men dressed in ski masks and hoodies were caught on video entering the 7-Eleven on the 300 block of Easton Road in Glenside.
The suspects announced a robbery and pushed the lone clerk out of the way.
One suspect stayed at the door as a lookout while the other suspects rummaged through the merchandise.
"They walk in, boom, boom, boom, like that...they said, 'Give us money," recalled store owner Vincent Emmanuel.
Within seconds the thieves grab everything they can before fleeing the store.
A similar incident happened recently at a Ridley Park store.
"It's a scary situation. Sooner or later somebody is gonna get really hurt out there," said Emmanuel.
Merchants say they first noticed this phenomenon at convenience stores in Philadelphia.
"Right now we have a lot of problems with the city of Philadelphia. We are closing left and right," said Manzoor Chughtai, the president of the Franchise Owners Association. "Robbers are coming in, they're just robbing the place left and right."
Chughtai says there is an increasing number of stores being shuttered due to these crimes.
"We have now lost about 15-20 stores in the city of Philadelphia. Nobody wants to take over the store. Nobody wants to run the business in the city of Philadelphia. Very dangerous," said Chughtai.
