Surveillance video shows a band of five men take off with about $29,000 in stolen merchandise from an Apple Store in Costa Mesa, causing a scene of panic at the electronics store on Monday.
The incident happened at the Apple Store in South Coast Plaza around 9 p.m., according to police.
Authorities believe there were five thieves, who are thought to be in their 20s, but no other information about the suspects has been released as police continue searching for them. Police have described the incident as a commercial burglary.
Dressed in black hooded sweatshirts, with just one of the men wearing a lighter colored sweater, a group of men can be seen casually walking into the store seconds before things turn chaotic. They start walking into different directions inside the store before people begin frantically running from them.
As they are seen running out of the store, another man falls to the ground and one of the suspects — carrying some sort of electronic with a screen — appears to kick him before the group takes off.
That man was an off-duty police officer who was apparently trying to stop the men, Roxi Fyad, a spokesperson with Costa Mesa police said.
The stolen products were estimated to be worth about $29,000
No further information has been released by police.
KTLA’s Chip Yost contributed to this report.