If 15 people enter the store at the same time, my guess is young kids, lock the doors and let them leave one at a time. Obviously something is going to go wrong if a pack of bodies come into a store....

The problem with this was they all entered at the same time, grabbed stuff from the front and were in an out very quickly. They made sure employees were at the back of the store so there was no time to get to the doors and lock them.

This sounds like "gypsy" activity to me!!! They hit fast and run, they attack different areas and make there rounds. This is normal for this time of year, pre-holiday season shopping. I remember when they pulled jewelry heists, and traveled from area to area. This is the same scenario, but a different pitch. This activity has been around in previous years, maybe in smaller groups. This is a real disturbance among our many communities. Where are the surveillance cameras? We need to curb this activity once and for all!!! They keep coming back because of their success of their activity.
LadyDi

A lot of talk at the neighborhood block watch meetings is about gypsies, but that's normally one person distracting a homeowner while another grabs stuff. I think we might see more of this because the swiftness lowers risk of getting caught

I agree Roger, they are always trying a new scam. They "attack" randomly and keep getting away with it. They are very sneaky and successful. That is their motivation. We just have to get ahead of their tricks.
LadyDi

Lane Bryant? Shouldn't be too hard to track down a mob of plus-sized thieves!

This is shoplifting by multiple offenders, not a flash mob. Flash mobs, by definition, are not criminal acts: http://bit.ly/oz4Qwb.

I'm not sure what flash mob means anymore, as it's now used often in reference to criminal acts. I just know that's the term the person used in contacting police and that's how it's mentioned.