Apple Store Robbery: Paris Apple Store Robbed of $1 Million Plus

Apple Store Robbery: When everybody else in Paris was partying on New Year’s Eve, a gang of thieves had something else in mind. After the Paris Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) store closed at 9 p.m. Pacific time (1700 GMT), the thieves waited three hours and then entered the store.

As reported by Dow Jones Business News, things obviously went as planned for the robbers. When everything was said and done, they left the store – which is located behind the Palais Garnier – with roughly $1.32 million in product.

In the report, a Paris police representative is quoted as saying:

It is too early to give an accurate estimation of the damage. An inventory is taking place to determine the exact amount of the damage.

Even if the initial estimate regarding the loss is high, it is safe to say that hundreds of thousands of dollars in inventory was stolen.

What about security?

At the time of the break-in, there was one security guard on duty as well as a cleaner. Unfortunately, neither party was able to stop the two suspects and one of the men was injured in the altercation.

Once inside the store, the thieves proceeded to steal as much as possible by loading the products into a vehicle parked outside.

According to a report by AppleInsider, this is not the first time an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) store has been targeted by criminals:

Apple products have been targeted by robbers in the past in France. In July 2012, a van carrying Apple products was carjacked by robbers with assault rifles in Aulnay-sous-Bois in Seine-Saint-Denis.

Apple’s stores are on occasion targets for theft, given the valuable merchandise the company sells at its retail locations. One attempted robbery in 2011 at a San Diego Apple Store led to a shootout in which a security guard killed one suspect.

Any store that houses millions of dollars in desirable products is sure to be targeted by thieves from time to time. It is unfortunate that the bad guys got away with so much from the Paris Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) store on New Year’s Eve. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that police track the suspects down in the near future.

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