Flash Mob Hits Designer Store in Georgetown, Steals $13,000 Worth of Goods

A large group of juveniles robbed a designer store in Georgetown Tuesday evening and stole $13,000 worth of items, according to D.C. Police.

The incident happened just before 6 p.m. at the Diesel store in the 3000 block of M Street NW. More than 20 people, police said, went into the store and grabbed several items off the racks, according to a police report. They stole four leather jackets, costing about $800, and an additional $12,000 worth of merchandise.

{snip} Police described the suspects only as juveniles.

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The incident comes after a group of merchants in Georgetown ended its use of a private messaging service that many retailers, residents and police officers had used to talk about people they thought were suspicious. There were concerns that the service was being used to racially profile people.

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But a look at the bulk of the correspondence over a nine-month period of those using the service had some people expressing suspicions about African Americans. About 90 percent of the photographs that were put up showed blacks. And there were descriptions in offensive language.

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