Reporter in San Francisco watches live as man brazenly steals from a Walgreens: 'Did that guy pay?'
A team of CNN reporters witnessed 3 thefts within a 30 minute span in a San Francisco Walgreens, according to a recent report.
A CNN reporter watched on as three people stole from a Walgreens store in San Francisco, according to a segment on rampant crime Monday.
CNN reporter Kyung Lah visited the store, located in the Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco, after video was released of the goods in the Walgreens being locked down to prevent rampant theft.
"Though typical, in the 30 minutes that we were at this Walgreens, we watched three people, including this man, steal," Lah said as a man walked out of the store.
VIDEO SHOWS SAN FRANCISCO WALGREENS CHAIN FREEZERS SHUT AFTER SHOPLIFTERS ROB STORE 20 TIMES A DAY
A CNN reporter watched on as three people stole from a Walgreens store in San Francisco, according to a segment on rampant crime Monday. (CNN / Screenshot)
"Did that guy pay?" Lah asked a Walgreens employee. "No," the employee responded.
San Francisco has lost at least five Walgreens stores due to "organized retail crime," according to a report.
Lah also reported that the Walgreens Richmond location had aisles of basic products, like mustard, "locked behind plexiglass." She said that Walgreens corporate told her that its Richmond store "has the highest theft rate of all their nearly 9,000 U.S. stores" and is "hit nearly a dozen times a day."
"When thieves started cleaning out ice cream and frozen burritos, workers grew so frustrated they resorted to the chains," Lah added. "They were ordered down by corporate because of the negative messaging."
At another grocery store in San Francisco, one shopper told CNN that living in the city feels like a "police state."
"I don't know how else to describe it," the man said.
The shopper was attempting to buy a $14 bag of coffee, Lah said.
Lah also spoke with political commentator Richie Greenberg, who filmed his own videos of the Walgreens store in San Francisco locking down goods. (Richie Greenberg and twitter @greenbergnation )
Lah also spoke with political commentator Richie Greenberg, who filmed his own videos of the Walgreens store in San Francisco locking down goods.
"Chains, heavy chains that went from padlock to padlock on both sides of the doors, and this was bizarre, something I’ve never seen before. This is just more icing on the cake, telling us that rampant crime has become a regular part of life," Greenberg told Lah.
Greenberg previously told Fox News Digital that he lives a few short blocks from the Walgreens at 16th Street and Geary Boulevard. He said he has watched as the area over the last few years has descended into a "graffiti-ridden, homeless and drug-addict frenzy."
"I've been terribly inconvenienced as a shopper to need to wait and wait for clerks to come open the locks at each area of the store for the products I need. I've stood in line inside for pharmacy pickup and watched thieves walk out of the store with arms loaded up. I've driven by the same store, seeing stolen merchandise in the arms of homeless crossing the street. I'm disgusted by the San Francisco City Hall officials who ignore the problem," Greenberg said.
Walgreens told Fox News Digital in a statement that it is working with law enforcement and other officials to help stop crime in stores. "Retail crime is one of the top challenges facing our industry today. We are focused on the safety of our patients, customers and team members. We continue to take preventative measures to safely deter theft and aim to deliver the best patient and customer experience. And we are working closely with law enforcement, elected officials and community leaders to draw greater attention to and improve our response to retail crime," the company said.
A viral video showed freezers at a San Francisco Walgreens chained shut after workers complained of rampant theft. (Richie Greenberg @greenbergnation)
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Fox News’ Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report.
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