Thieves smash car through front door of Berlin Apple store in twilight heist
Thieves crashed a compact car through the front door of Apple's Kurf?rstendamm store in Berlin and made off with several display devices during an early Monday morning smash-and-grab.
German police suspect the robbery was committed by a gang that is believed to have hit several other high-end retailers in the nation's capital city, according to Bloomberg. Most recently, the same crew is thought to have staged a similar break-in at a shopping mall near Berlin's famous Alexanderplatz square that saw the thieves make off with about ?100,000 worth of electronics earlier in December.
The bandits used a stolen Opel Corsa, a small hatchback similar to a Honda Civic, as a motorized battering ram to break through the store's glass front doors at 4:15 a.m. local time. Because the store's inventory had been locked away for the night, only around 20 demonstration iPhones, iPads, and laptops were taken, according to Thomas Neuendorf of the Berlin police department.
After grabbing the merchandise, the group reportedly sped off in two Audis. Authorities declined to place a value on the haul.
Photos and video of the scene show one of the several-inch-thick steel-framed glass doors having been thrown completely off of its hinges, while several iPhones were missing from a display near the entrance. Workers have already begun to repair the damage, and the store is open for business as usual.
At least two other Apple stores have been marred by vehicular run-ins in just over a year. The company's Lincoln Park, Chicago store was the scene of an accident earlier this year, while thieves using a similar M.O. to the Berlin robbery smashed the front windows of the Temecula, Calif. Apple store last September.
The Kurf?rstendamm store is Apple's only retail outlet in Berlin and opened in May of this year. The store, located in a renovated 100-year-old theater in one of Berlin's most prestigious shopping districts, was Apple's 12th shop in Germany and took at least two years to construct.
German police suspect the robbery was committed by a gang that is believed to have hit several other high-end retailers in the nation's capital city, according to Bloomberg. Most recently, the same crew is thought to have staged a similar break-in at a shopping mall near Berlin's famous Alexanderplatz square that saw the thieves make off with about ?100,000 worth of electronics earlier in December.
The bandits used a stolen Opel Corsa, a small hatchback similar to a Honda Civic, as a motorized battering ram to break through the store's glass front doors at 4:15 a.m. local time. Because the store's inventory had been locked away for the night, only around 20 demonstration iPhones, iPads, and laptops were taken, according to Thomas Neuendorf of the Berlin police department.
After grabbing the merchandise, the group reportedly sped off in two Audis. Authorities declined to place a value on the haul.
Photos and video of the scene show one of the several-inch-thick steel-framed glass doors having been thrown completely off of its hinges, while several iPhones were missing from a display near the entrance. Workers have already begun to repair the damage, and the store is open for business as usual.
At least two other Apple stores have been marred by vehicular run-ins in just over a year. The company's Lincoln Park, Chicago store was the scene of an accident earlier this year, while thieves using a similar M.O. to the Berlin robbery smashed the front windows of the Temecula, Calif. Apple store last September.
The Kurf?rstendamm store is Apple's only retail outlet in Berlin and opened in May of this year. The store, located in a renovated 100-year-old theater in one of Berlin's most prestigious shopping districts, was Apple's 12th shop in Germany and took at least two years to construct.
Comments
LOL
Waiting for, 'Thieves arrested when trying to use stolen devices.'
'Find my thief' feature.
I blame the jailbreakers.
I'm pretty sure Microsoft would love that thieves "smash" one of their store...
Good. I am not happy with Apple at the moment due to my macbook
OK. You win the Nonsensically Random Post of the Year award (even though we're only 357 days into the year).
Apple should have a secondary metal curtain that drops down on all openings once a breach is detected to hold the theives in, like animals in a cage, until the police arrive.
That won't stop Thomas Crown.
http://www.ifoapplestore.com/2013/12/23/high-profile-store-targeted-by-burglars/#more-15253
This a bit lame, but will be good business for these guys:
http://www.glasspolish.eu
Blitzkreig!!
I’m waiting to see this happen at a Microsoft or Samsung store. Just not worth it I guess.
With this kind of smash and grab becoming popular, Apple should think about implementing security barriers on the sidewalks in front of the stores. And since Apple has invested so much into sapphire glass, use that in the stores' glass fronts
Many stores do have these. The new Palo Alto store on University has really, really ugly barricades that are totally obnoxious (they're the big white and orange highway divider type). They need to design attractive barriers that provide some sort of additional function.
Don't these people know there is tracking all over the floor models?
Noticed on TV tonight that Microsoft is offering $ 50 off on xBox 1...Could it be it's not selling as well as they would like?