8 businesses were burglarized in Oakland’s Chinatown overnight
ABC7 is reporting that eight small businesses in Oakland’s Chinatown were ransacked and burglarized overnight, resulting in significant property damage and tens of thousands of dollars worth of cash and stolen goods.
In surveillance footage, at least six people are seen breaking into Lounge Chinatown, a new Taiwanese and Chinese night market in the neighborhood. At least $36,000 worth of items were reportedly stolen from Lounge Chinatown alone.
"It is really outrageous and disappointing when we see these things that people would actually come to Chinatown and literally destroy our businesses," Francis Lan, board president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, said to ABC7.
No arrests have been made in connection with these eight burglaries.
Prior to Thursday night, Oakland Police reported that more than 12 other businesses were also burglarized, many of them in Oakland’s Chinatown as well. This appears to be part of an ongoing trend where Asian-owned businesses and Asian business owners’ homes and cars are being targeted.
"We do believe there may be a particular group that may be responsible for several of them, but not all of them so we have multiple crews that are doing these robberies," Captain David Elzey, said in a press conference.