JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local GameStop is boarded up after it became the target of a smash-and-grab this weekend.
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Using their car like a battering ram, a group of suspected thieves crashed their car into the wall of the GameStop on 103rd Street Saturday night.
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A video posted on social media captured the whole thing.
A group of what appears to be six individuals in two separate cars can be seen sprinting into the building.
Just a few seconds later, they reappear and run full speed back to their cars.
One individual even slips and falls on the ground during the commotion, while another leaps through a car window before speeding off.
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According to sources, an unknown amount of inventory was stolen, and the business was left a mess.
By the time the store opened Monday, things had been cleaned up and a plywood wall was erected where the vehicle had smashed through.
Organized retail theft like this has been surging in Jacksonville and nationwide.
Brittany Waters and her mom spoke with Action News Jax after witnessing a similar incident at the Ulta in Town Center last year.
“They were bold. They weren’t afraid of anybody saying anything to them,” said Waters. “They just filled up their bags, alarms are going off, and walked right out the door with like, lots of products.”
According to the JSO Economic Crimes Unit, about a quarter million dollars worth of merchandise was stolen in Jacksonville in 2021.
That number doubled to half a million in 2022.
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“Most offenses, you’re generally as a group five, six people who get together and they start. But as they get more successful, and they realize there’s money to be made, they may start recruiting in more people to try to expand their operation,” said Lieutenant Mark Musser with JSO in an interview with Action News Jax in February of 2023.
Action News Jax is still working to obtain the police report for the burglary this weekend.
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We’ve also learned there was another recent burglary at a separate GameStop in town and are investigating whether the two incidents might be connected.
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