OAKLAND — Oakland Chinatown businesses are asking for more police presence after a series of burglaries Thursday morning.
Surveillance videos show a group of people breaking into at least seven businesses, including restaurants and a salon.
Most of the break-ins happened in the one block of 8th Street between Webster and Franklin Streets. Authorities believe the same burglars also broke into an insurance office a block away on Harrison Street.
Surveillance footage showed a robber pointing a gun as the group went to different rooms to find the cash register inside Lounge Chinatown, a restaurant that opened in December.
“I feel numb but I also feel angry,” said Darlene Wong, Lounge Chinatown’s social media manager.
Video from the restaurant’s surveillance camera showed seven robbers and two separate vehicles.
It took about 14 minutes for the thieves to enter Lounge Chinatown. First they used a bolt cutter, then a reciprocating saw and, finally, a hammer to break down the fence and front door.
Besides taking money, the thieves also took expensive alcohol from the restaurant’s bar.
Wong said that, between the money taken and the damage the thieves caused inside the business, the business lost about $36,000.
“It’s a financial failure,” Wong said.
“They’re taking everything, they’re everywhere and they come together, they come in groups,” said Francis Lan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce.
The Chinatown chamber held a community meeting and press conference Friday morning.
Busy business owners said that, while they appreciate the police presence during the day, they also want patrols at night.
Oakland police said thieves hit more than 12 businesses across the city. The police added that they insisted on patrolling Chinatown and other affected business districts.
Wong hopes that customers will support Lounge Chinatown and that the restaurant will survive the robbery.
“Please support us,” Wong said
No arrests have been made so far and the police believe that the vehicles used in the burglaries were stolen.
