BART takeover robbery: 40 to 60 teens swarm train, rob weekend riders
By Demian
Bulwa – San Francisco Chronicle
April
24, 2017 Updated:
April 24, 2017 12:48pm
A
recent string of robberies on BART trains took a frightening turn
when dozens of juveniles swarmed an Oakland station over the weekend
and commandeered a train car, forcing passengers to hand over bags
and cell phones and leaving at least two with head injuries,
witnesses told the transit agency.
The
incident — the first of its kind in recent memory — occurred
around 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Coliseum Station.
According
to a police officials, witnesses said 40 to 60 juveniles flooded the
station, jumped the fare gates and rushed to the second-story train
platform. Some of the robbers apparently held open the doors of a
Dublin-bound train car while others streamed inside, confronting and
robbing and in some cases beating riders.
The
juveniles “committed multiple strong-arm robberies of bags and cell
phones,” said a police summary prepared after the incident. “At
least two victims suffered head/facial injuries requiring medical
attention.”
Alicia
Trost, a BART spokeswoman, said Monday that seven robberies had
occurred — with victims losing a purse, a duffel bag and five
phones. Six people were robbed inside the train car, with a seventh
confronted on the platform, she said.
The
attack was quick, police reported, and the teenagers were able to
retreat from the station and vanish into the surrounding East Oakland
neighborhood before BART officers could respond. The train that was
hit was held for about 15 minutes as authorities investigated the
crime and tended to the injured.
“We
are in the process of pulling all surveillance video and we will
share with Oakland police, Oakland Unified School District and
Oakland Housing Authority to see if they can help identify the
minors,” Trost said. “We have had success with sharing images of
juveniles with this group and identifying and making arrests in the
past.”
BART
announced that it has hired a new police chief who worked previously
in Southern California. Candice Nguyen reports.
Media:
KTVU
The
images cannot be shared publicly, she said, because the suspects
appear to be minors.
BART
is also checking with Oakland police to see if any other incidents
Saturday night — such as a big house party being broken up —
might shed light on the identity of the suspects.
This
incident is likely to present a challenge for BART, which hired
a new police chief last
week. The agency has struggled
to contain fare evaders,
and is in the midst of installing
surveillance cameras in train cars after
The Chronicle reported
that most of the existing cameras were decoys.
Demian
Bulwa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
Email: dbulwa@sfchronicle.comTwitter: @demianbulwa
http://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/BART-takeover-robbery-50-to-60-teens-swarm-11094745.php
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