Flash Mobs Escalating Violence

Not too long ago, . . . within this LVA Forum, . . . the incidence of those occasions on which a "gang" of "young people" or "teens" would rush into a convenience store or other retail establishment and take whatever they wanted and leave as quickly as they'd arrived was characterized as a "Prom Prank".
DonDiego suggested it was a mite more serious.

It just got more serious.

Over the July 4th weekend a flash mob descended on a British Petroleum Gas Station/Convenience Store in Milwaukee "when one or two people held the door open to let others rush in and steal snacks and candy." A typical fun-filled prank.
The youths then moved on to Kilbourn Reservoir Park.

Not long thereafter a group of "20 to 25 friends from Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood [who] had gathered at the [Kilbourn Reservoir] park shortly before midnight to watch some fireworks set off by a neighbor" were "injured by a mob they said beat and robbed them and threw full beer bottles while making racial taunts."
"The injured people were white; the attackers were African-American, witnesses said."

"At the Tuesday (5 July) news conference, [Milwaukee Police Chief Edward] Flynn attempted to defuse reports that mobs of youth were running through the Riverwest neighborhood attacking citizens. However, he acknowledged that those responsible for the BP store looting and attacks at Kilbourn Reservoir Park had mob-like characteristics."

Ref: Journal-Sentinel 6 July

TMJ4 Video

Hmm, . . . from "Prom Prank" to "mob-like characteristics". DonDiego opines at least it's a start toward honest descriptions.

DonDiego expects a long Summer. Stay safe !

We called it wilding back in my youth when poor old DonDiego was known merely as poor DonDiego and gas was under $1 per gallon.

I'm sorry stealing is not a prank whether done by one person or a mob
Whether taking some snacks or someones purse.
It is a crime and we should all recognize that and treat it as such rather than a "youthful indescrecion"
Maybe then we would grow up with a sense of ownership of our own behavior.

Ok,
I am off my soapbox now.

That's why the make claymore mines. 4 in a 20ft circle and poof, problem solved.

Personally i think it should be the law that you are allowed / encouraged to open up with a few full auto mags
on their asses, 10 to 1 the invaders wouldn't do it a second time! It's not just a harmless prank anymore.
Break the law / pay the price. The people doing these crimes are old enough to know better and if they knew the
possibility of what may be waiting for them they would think twice, and if they still did it and lost their bet O.F.W.!!

I'm very confused. Was the mob of people who attacked the park attendees the same mob that robbed the store or is that simply an inference made based upon their number, age and race?

I would opine there is a massive difference between between physical assault and shoplifting. One is a violent crime and one is not which is why the law punishes the latter considerably more lightly.

I may be mistaken but it seems as if Don Diego is painting with very broad brush by suggesting the Vegas Mob shoplifiting incident is comparable to a mob of thugs who indiscriminantly beat people in a park.

Whether swarming a convenience store and stealing beer, soft drinks, etc. or swarming a store for more expensive merchandise goes beyond simple shoplifting in my book. There is intimidation by the large number of people participating in the crime. While I don't advocate killing someone, I'd want far harsher penalties put on these people, than regular shoplifters.

DonDiego opines it is more than an inference.

Witnesses to the thefts from the BP convenience store report the thieves departed in the direction of nearby Kilbourn Reservoir Park.
The convenience store clerk told TMJ4 News: "They went up the hill on North Avenue to Reservoir Park."
"The BP was overrun shortly before midnight, and minutes later the attacks occurred in the park."
One of the victims states in the reference video which DonDiego provided: " they had their arms full with chips, sodas, and candy."
All the thieves in the convenience store were Black. All the assailants in the Park were Black.

Coincidence? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

so what does this have to do with a flash mob?

Unfortunately, the Press has begun referring to the mobs of youths descending upon convenience stores, and more recently even upscale stores, for the purpose of theft as "flash mobs", thereby amending the original term which referred to spontaneous performance artists.

It's not DonDiego's fault !