On the night of May 30, a Walmart on East Fletcher Avenue, Tampa, Florida was ransacked by hundreds of looters. According to surveillance videos released by state authorities, the looters made off with more than $100,000 worth of merchandise. The incident happened during the height of the rioting and looting wave that swept across the United States after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) released the footage on Thursday, and deputies and officials from the office are asking the public to help them identify any of the looters caught in the surveillance footage who swept the superstore clean.

DO YOU KNOW THEM? The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help identifying approximately 200 looters who broke into a Tampa Walmart and stole more than $100,000 worth of merchandise. DETAILS: https://t.co/p0nEI0LwPb pic.twitter.com/lxKFhDTodM

— FOX 13 Tampa Bay (@FOX13News) June 11, 2020

According to a statement made by the HCSO, the mass looting incident occurred at around 9:10 p.m. The targeted Walmart was closed as a precaution due to the wave of rioting and looting sweeping the country, but several individuals armed with blunt instruments such as hammers were able to force their way into the store by breaking the glass at the entrance.

In the surveillance footage, waves upon waves of looters, many with covered faces, were seen racing through the Walmart’s aisles, grabbing valuable merchandise. By the end of the footage, the criminals were seen leaving the ransacked superstore – one man was even seen hauling off a large, flat-screen television with his bare hands.

HCSO detectives believe that approximately 200 people entered the store and participated in the looting. Walmart employees reported that the incident cost the store around $116,000 in property damages and stolen merchandise.

“Not only is this violence completely unacceptable, it was disrespectful to the protesters who were out there that night trying to express their message in an impactful way,” said HCSO Sheriff Chad Chronister.

“We are actively working to identify each and every one of these suspects and ask the public to provide any information they may have,” he added.

Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he thanks police officers across the United States for working around the clock and doing their best to protect life, property and society as a whole during this wave of engineered rioting.

Looting and rioting to cost the United States hundreds of millions of dollars

According to the Anderson Economic Group (AEG), a consulting firm specializing in business valuation and market analysis, the looting and rioting damages in 20 of the country’s largest metropolitan areas will cost the country upward of $400 million. Their analysis covers the period of the worst rioting between May 29 and June 3, which means it may be safe to say that the overall cost of the riots and looting has gone up significantly since then.

AEG’s analysis includes property damage, stolen and damaged inventory, reconstruction costs and lost wages related to the closure of businesses. Their analysis only covered the private sector, and it does not include how much federal, state and local governments have spent over the six days of rioting. (Related: Looting has turned parts of Chicago’s South Side into a FOOD DESERT – residents unsure where to get a healthy meal.)

In New York City, where many businesses were similarly damaged and looted, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research believes that the cost in damages and theft will be in the tens of millions of dollars. The estimate takes into account the cost of the pilfered merchandise and what businesses will most likely need to spend for repairs, increasing security and insurance payments.

In the Twin Cities area of Minnesota alone, where George Floyd died and the riots began, the insurance industry is estimating that the claims will cost insurers no less than $25 million; however, this does not represent the extent of the damage done on Minneapolis and St. Paul. Local business owners and insurance experts have estimated that the overall costs of the damage could exceed $500 million, making the Twin Cities riots the second costliest period of civil unrest in American history.

The wave of criminality and engineered rioting the United States is currently experiencing can be difficult to keep up with. Rioting.news publishes up-to-date and unbiased articles about the recent events.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

ABCActionNews.com

AndersonEconomicGroup.com

FoxBusiness.com

NYPost.com

MarketWatch.com

StarTribune.com