9 people arrested, London's busiest commercial street is about to be robbed? Hundreds of people gathered to watch the post | Time | Robbery
According to British media reports, recently, posts encouraging young people to rob have circulated on social media in the UK, forcing shops on Oxford Street in London to close early on the 9th local time. In this incident, the police arrested a total of 9 people and issued dozens of evacuation orders.
According to the Independent, a recent post circulating on social media incited organized "robbery" of a shop on Oxford Street, which indicated the date and time of the event, and even had pictures telling people to wear "dress codes" such as balaclava hats and gloves. The post also wrote, "If you can't run, don't come," and asked people not to carry weapons.
According to The Guardian, hundreds of teenagers gathered on the busiest shopping street in London that afternoon. Due to crowds gathering, several shops on Oxford Street briefly closed and locked customers inside. The scene was crowded with onlookers using mobile phones to shoot, and traffic on Oxford Street was temporarily interrupted. Four mounted police officers maintained order and evacuated the crowd during the incident.
The Daily Mail of the UK reported that police clashed with dozens of young people at the scene.
The Guardian reported that many people went to watch out of curiosity, and some passersby said they had heard about it on social media and "just wanted to record it.". Some people also said, "We're not here to steal things, there are many celebrities filming videos here. We see a lot of police officers and want to see what's going on."
According to reports, after 8 pm that evening, the London Police Department announced that it had issued 34 evacuation orders and arrested a total of 9 people. Among them, 4 were suspected of violating the evacuation orders, 1 was suspected of theft, 1 was suspected of assaulting a police officer, and 1 was suspected of violating public order. Earlier that day, two people were arrested for conspiring to rob while posting on social media.
According to Sky News, Oxford Street is one of the busiest shopping streets in Europe, with approximately 500000 visitors every day.