FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Masked burglars shattered the front window of an electronics store on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale early Thursday and employees are now urging police to investigate.
Surveillance video from Global Technologies captured the moment a thief in blue gloves hurled a brick through the glass before ducking under the shattered pane to unlock the door for others.
“It is totally broken,” owner Yovany Herrera said as he swept up shards of glass outside his store.
He said his store, located at 1261 E. Las Olas Blvd., which operates seven days a week, has never closed since opening to stay in business.
“We work Monday to Sunday here — never close because we need to work, but some people…,” Herrera said.
The video shows at least three individuals rifling through the store, making off with high-value electronics.
“They got $9,000 in devices in less than one minute,” Herrera said.
But what shocks him most, he said, is their apparent age.
“These are kids,” Herrera said. “How old are these kids?”
Herrera believes the same group had visited his store eight days earlier, possibly scouting the location.
“They know exactly where the expensive device is. They don’t care about the other ones, you see,” he said, while pointing to the surveillance footage.
His suspicion grew stronger when he overheard them asking about the latest phone model.
“They asked for the iPhone 16,” he said.
While their ages remain unconfirmed, Herrera and his employees believe the suspects are minors.
“This was a group, so it makes me think there could be someone else behind it just sending them out,” said employee Natalia Arango.
Now, he’s calling on police to track them down, and for parents to take a closer look at what their children are doing.
“We are surprised for what happened, them being minors. That is what is shocking,” Arango said. “It is a call for parents to keep an eye on their kids. That is our next generation. If a person is doing that at 15 years old, imagine what he will be doing at 27.”
Arango hopes the crime serves as a wake-up call.
“In these situations, you want the right thing to be done, which is hopefully getting attention to the parents or having a program in place for the kids who get in trouble — because some of these kids may have other issues that make them do what they did,” Arango added.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.