A jaw-dropping video shows the moment nearly 100 robbers ransack a California gas station in the middle of the night.

Surveillance footage displays dozens of masked and hoodie-wearing thieves taking their sweet time to grab as much as they can carry just after 4:30am on Friday at the station in Oakland.

The raid came just days after Oakland’s progressive mayor bragged about drop in crime.

The operation appeared to be well-planned with all hell breaking loose after a car was deliberately driven into the glass doors of the store.

No sooner had the crash occurred, the robbers were on scene and ready to snatch anything they could, turning the place upside down in the process.

The robbers were in no hurry and could be heard laughing on camera as the grabbed whatever they wanted

Meanwhile, the police were nowhere to be seen with the robbers seemingly taking their time. 

In video footage, those taking part in the robbery could be heard laughing as they casually perused the aisles of the store looking for stuff to take. 

The owner, named Sam, called Oakland Police Department upon arriving at the 76. He was allegedly told to ‘file a report online.’ 

The owner told KRON4 then he then attempted to contact the OPD Police Chief Floyd Mitchell only to be told that he had to make an appointment. 

Police later clarified that the call to law enforcement came after the suspects had left the premises. 

‘Video evidence was later reported to OPD that made clear the scale and details of the incident, including the large number of suspects, and the incident was immediately elevated to a Priority 1 incident, which prompted an officer to go to the scene to make contact with the owner, and investigators are now reviewing evidence and working directly with the gas station owner,’ OPD said in a statement.

Just days earlier, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, 38, had been boasting of a reduction in crime in the city which has been blighted by criminality in recent years.

Sheng Thao will face a historic recall election in November amid anger over her failure to get a grip on the situation in Oakland

Oakland has been rocked by violent crime in recent months, including murders which have soared from 78 in 2019 to 126 last year. (pictured) Police investigate a multiple shooting and homicide at a gas station Oakland in January 2023

‘Oakland is seeing positive results from new public safety strategies’, the mayor said claiming that it was a ‘proven data-driven strategy that focuses law enforcement violence prevention and community resources on individuals in Oakland who are at highest risk to be involved in violence.’

Mayor Thao said that since introducing ‘operation ceasefire’ ‘violent crime and overall crime have decreased in a significant and sustained manner.’

The mayor failed to provide any figures explaining how levels of crime had reduced in any meaningful way. 

Thao, 38, is facing a recall election less than two years into her term as mayor.

Increased crime and budgetary problems have challenged Thao since she assumed office in January 2023 after a stint on the Oakland City Council.

Oakland voters are upset about soaring crime in the Bay Area city.

They say Thao’s progressive, soft-on-crime policies have emboldened criminals and driven away businesses. It is a a familiar story in many progressive, Democrat cities across the country.  

In Mayor Thao’s case, she has previously decried the increase in crime, stating that the uptick began in 2019 before her tenure.

But it is lax bail reform policies and the failure to bring successful prosecutions even for low-level offenses that had led to the continual rot in Oakland. 

In Oakland’s case, the city has been rocked by violent crime in recent months, including murders, which soared from 78 in 2019 to 126 last year.

Crime overall increased by 18 percent in 2023 with property crime up 17 percent and violent crime up 21 percent.

And in the first four months of 2024, residential robberies soared by 118 percent on the same period last year.

Staggeringly, one car per every 30 residents was also stolen in 2023. 

The situation has prompted several large corporations to pull out of the city, citing fears for staff safety and the crippling impact of retail theft.

The progressive Democrat lawmaker is the first mayor in the city’s history to be up for recall, after a campaign to oust her gained more than 40,000 signatures.

Public support for Thao has been on the wane, with Oakland’s former police chief LeRonne Armstrong urging her to resign.

‘What’s really challenging is that not only the absence of the mayor, but the absence of other city leaders stepping up in this moment to make sure that residents and people in the city of Oakland know that leadership is in place and working to help solve some of these problems,’ said LeRonne Armstrong, a former police chief fired by Thao.  

Last month, federal authorities raided her home. Thao was defiant and furious, insisting she did not do anything wrong and she has no plans to resign from office 

Last month, federal authorities raided her home. Thao was defiant and furious, insisting she did not do anything wrong and she has no plans to resign from office.

Mayor Sheng Thao read from a prepared statement and took no questions  four days after FBI agents carried boxes out of the home she shares with her son and partner as part of an investigation that included searches of two other houses owned by another family.

Retired judge Brenda Harbin-Forte, who is leading the recall campaign, is calling for Thao to step down. 

‘She should do the honorable thing, and resign. The FBI raid is going to be a distraction, no matter which way you cut it. Even if she’s not charged, it’s going to be a distraction trying to manage this investigation and try to lead a city,’ Harbin-Forte said.

If Costco’s proposal for a mixed-use retail and housing development in California is successful, you won’t have to go far to pick up a rotisserie chicken or a package of 30 rolls of toilet paper.

The company, in partnership with developer Thrive Living, announced plans in June to open a new South Los Angeles store with an 800-unit apartment complex attached. In a press release, Costco also announced that the combo retail-housing project will include 184 affordable units.

A Thrive Living representative told the New York Post that the project is still awaiting permits, and it is unknown when construction will begin.

In addition to being able to shop for super-sized bottles of spirits or vats of heavy whipping cream at the bulk retailer, Thrive Living plans the following for the apartment complex:

• Five courtyards and a landscaped walking path.
• A rooftop pool, a full basketball court, and various climbing and play structures.
• Indoor/outdoor fitness area.
• Outdoor area for community movie nights.
• Community gardens where residents can grow their own food.
• Classrooms for community gatherings, tutoring, and mentorship.

The site would feature a “state-of-the-art store, featuring fresh produce [and] healthy food options for residents,” Thrive Living told the Los Angeles Times. The store would also include an optical service counter for eyeglasses, a pharmacy, and a delivery service. 

The mixed-use complex would replace a vacant five-acre lot that a hospital once occupied.

Why would Costco get into the apartment building business?

Costco didn’t return messages on why the retail company would venture into a business so different from selling bulk goods, but Southern California housing activist Joe Cohen has a theory.

“The problem is, new massive big-box stores are hard to get approved in LA.,” Cohen wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “So Costco did what any good Scooby-Doo villain would do. They put on a mask that says ‘I’m an apartment building, not a big-box store.’ “

Gabe Kadosh, a vice president of Colliers in Los Angeles, told real estate publication CoStar that Costco may test the concept in California before developing other mixed-used developments across the state and the nation.

“It’s certainly fascinating and something that people are going to be watching,” Kadosh told CoStar. “Developers are going to be paying attention.”

What to know about Costco

In 1976, Costco opened in San Diego under the Price Club name. In 1983, the company opened a Seattle location. In 1993, Price Club officially changed its name to Costco. With 206 locations generating $16 billion in annual sales, the superstore chain currently operates 847 warehouses globally, with an average size of 146,000 square feet, according to its website. 

Today, Costco employs 300,000 people worldwide, has 129.5 million members, and has $248 billion in annual sales.

Opponents of the bill include some low-wealth districts and advocacy groups that say the proposal does not go far enough in addressing the equity gap that benefits affluent school districts.

A recent report from the UC Berkeley Center for Cities + Schools found that districts in the wealthiest communities got $4,000-$5,000 more, per student, to modernize their facilities than districts in the least affluent communities. This is because districts receive a match based on what they can raise themselves. Districts with low wealth and property values are limited in the amount of a bond they can raise, while wealthy districts and large urban districts like Los Angeles and San Francisco can raise much more.

“We’re sending a message and a wrong message that some kids matter more than others,” said Lynwood Unified School District superintendent Gudiel R. Crosthwaite.

Public Advocates, a public interest law firm, had proposed a different sliding scale that would have given the lowest-wealth districts, such as Lynwood, a 95% match from the state with a 5% local contribution, while the richest districts would have received just a 5% match for a 95% local contribution.

The firm has now threatened to sue the state based on the current proposal language, which they say violates students’ constitutional right to a high-quality education.