The Oakland Police Department is actively searching for a group of thieves who used a backhoe and a pickup truck to break into a local convenience store.
The incident occurred on the morning of Monday, Nov. 6, around 2:15 a.m. in the 800 block of West Grand Avenue.
This dramatic robbery was captured by the surveillance cameras both inside and outside the AMPM store. The footage shows the moment the backhoe crashed into a bulletproof glass window while a worker was behind the counter. The thief operating the backhoe reached over to scoop up an ATM machine, causing the glass to shatter and pushing the clerk back in a rush to escape the oncoming demolition.
The backhoe then proceeded to tear into the gas station’s ATM and smashed it down. A would-be robber entered the store with a chain and attempted to connect it to a white pickup truck, intending to drag the money machine away. However, the chain was not long enough to secure it to the ATM.
After a brief moment, police sirens started wailing as they approached, causing the wannabe robbers to retreat. At least one of them hastily jumped into the back of a pickup truck, leaving the scene empty-handed.
Video footage of the incident went viral on social media, leaving many in disbelief and blaming the “Defund the Police” movement from 2020 for the increase in violence in the city.
One person wrote, “Oakland was ground zero for the Defund the Police movement. Here are the results.”
Others thought it was a foolish operation that would never yield a significant reward for the criminals.
One person commented, “The cost and risk-reward ratio seems extremely lopsided to me. Why not break into a bank vault at this rate?” Another wrote, “Can someone educate me on how much money is in a gas station ATM? $500? $1000? I have no idea. But this is crazy.”
Ali Abdulla, the store owner, reported that the clerk was not harmed, but he is concerned about his own safety. While no lives were lost, his storefront has been destroyed.
“They tore up the whole front! That’s at least $70,000 worth of damage,” he said in an interview with ABC News 7.
He added, “I was born and raised in Oakland. I’m 51 years old, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Abdulla now believes that the “only way you can run a business in Oakland is to sleep in your store and stay locked and loaded with an AK-47 as soon as you close because he believes the police will not arrive on time to protect the property or business.
By the time the police arrived at his store, the robbers had fled, but the backhoe was still at the scene.
“I’m not blaming the police because there’s just not enough of them out there,” Abdulla said. He also wonders how elected officials are spending tax dollars to support public safety.
In 2023, Oakland witnessed a significant increase in criminal activity, making headlines. While the homicide rate has decreased by 14 percent in the past year, there has been a substantial surge in burglaries, which have risen by 41 percent, and robberies, which have increased by over 20 percent, as reported by the city’s police department.
Currently, the Oakland Police Department employs 715 officers, but CNN reports that the city ideally requires approximately 1,200 officers to effectively manage its population.
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