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Thieves steal $27,000 in merchandise from Apple Store in brazen robbery

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A group of men stole $27,000 worth of merchandise from an Apple Store in Fresno, California, surveillance video shows.

The brazen theft happened Saturday morning at the Apple Store inside the Fashion Fair Mall. 

The suspects ran into the store and ripped electronics from display tables throughout the store as customers and employees watched. They were in and out in just seconds.

Lt. Mark Hudson of the Fresno Police Department told KFSN-TV in Fresno that the group took various iPhones, including Apple's newest model, the iPhone X.

A group of visibly frightened teenage girls stood in the middle of the store while one of the thieves ran past them, laptops in hand. 

"One customer stood by the door to prevent them from leaving but was knocked out of the way," Hudson told KFSN. "Right now we are looking for four, or five, we believe there was a getaway driver, black males anywhere from 16 to 18 years old."

According to Fresno police, the suspects never displayed any weapons.

Investigators are reviewing the surveillance footage from the store to see who the young men are, and if the crime might be connected to a similar robbery that took place last month about two-and-a-half hours south of Fresno in San Luis Obispo, California.

"There are other reports, of other places, other cities in California that have had these kinds of takeover thefts," Hudson said. "So we are looking into (this crime) being connected to other crimes, at any other Apple Stores outside of Fresno.