It was only about seven weeks ago that LA experienced some looting which seemed to be coordinated with anti-ICE protests.
Because nothing screams ‘deportation is bad’ quite like looting the Jordan store.
Good call, fellas. 👍🏽 pic.twitter.com/EGBUBvYTgX
— Amiri King (@AmiriKing) June 10, 2025
The looters hit at least half-a-dozen stores downtown looking to steal sneakers, cell phones, jewelry, and car parts. Hundreds of people were involved.
Autozone looting in LA 😳 pic.twitter.com/o58mBzTn9w
— non aesthetic things (@PicturesFoIder) June 16, 2024
Once the protest died down (after the National Guard was called out) the looting stopped. But this weekend, LA was hit with another round of looting. This time it wasn’t connected with any protest. It seemed to arise from sideshows, i.e. unauthorized street takeovers where people drift their cars around intersections. And once again the first target was an AutoZone store which was looted late Friday night/early Saturday morning.
An LAPD spokesperson confirmed to KTLA that calls of a street takeover came in around 1:25 a.m. at Century Boulevard and Central Avenue near Ted Watkins Memorial Park in the Green Meadows neighborhood.
Approximately two minutes later, individuals were reported to have entered the nearby AutoZone located at Century and Central, the spokesperson said.
While the spokesperson could not confirm the value of stolen merchandise, they did note that a burglary report was taken. Video from the scene obtained by KTLA shows items, including a car battery and boxes of rims, scattered across the area along with broken glass from the storefront.
Late Saturday night there were more sideshows and by early Sunday morning at least two more stores were looted, including another shoe store:
Police responded around 3:30 a.m. to a report of a street takeover near Wilmington Avenue and Del Amo Boulevard.
Shortly after, authorities received another call about a burglary in progress at a WSS store at the same intersection, according to the LA Sheriff’s Department.
Here’s a local news report on Saturday night’s activity.
And according to this clip, there was another looting late Sunday/early Monday morning at a grocery store following yet another sideshow.
El Super Grocery Store in Los Angeles Looted during a Street Takeover. Liquor cabinet seen emptied and ATM destroyed. 1301 E Gage Ave 7/28/2025 2:30 Am. #StreetTakeover #Looting #LosAngeles Clip From Kick Streamer LordHito pic.twitter.com/2wAdHGgu9I
— Arrow (@arrowhead03) July 28, 2025
Street takeovers have been taking place in LA for decades but the number has increased dramatically since the pandemic.
The number of reports of illegal street races and intersection takeovers, also known as side shows, increased in Los Angeles in the first months of 2024, according to new LAPD data, and authorities said they’re still struggling to find an effective solution to prevent them.
More than 176 street races were reported between January and March, up nearly 50% from the same period in 2023, and the number of takeovers rose 2% to 190, although officials cautioned the numbers were incomplete and probably low, due to a data collection upgrade underway at the LAPD.
“It’s just been kind of frustrating dealing with all the street takeovers,” said Michael Kirchmann, Jr., who lives close to where a takeover happened at Century Boulevard and Hoover Street that led to a crowd break-in and burglary at an auto parts store on June 9.
Generally the police do nothing about it because they are inevitably outnumbered. Now it seems the people who attend these impromptu parties have decided police disinterest will extend to the looting of nearby stores as well. In fact, you have to wonder if the sideshows aren’t being set up at intersections where there’s a nearby store worth looting. The car stunts are starting to look like a cover for the real action. Some reports say a handful of people were arrested in connection with these takeovers, but it’s a tiny fraction of the number of people involved.
The LA County Board of Supervisors doubled the fines for street takeovers back in April. That means drivers involved could be fined $1,000 if they are caught. But how many actually get arrested? Not many from what I can tell.
