Crime blotter: Accused robber shot and killed at Dallas Apple Store

Million-dollar iPhone ring theft busted, and Apple Store thefts throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at the world of Apple-related crime.

Apple Store theft suspect shot dead in Texas

Thefts at Apple Store locations happen often, but they don't usually lead to a fatality. Yet that was the case this week in the Dallas, when a man suspected of robbing an Apple Store was shot dead by a security guard.

According to NBC Dallas Fort Worth, the incident took place at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, when a man wearing body armor and carrying an assault rifle approached the under-construction Knox Street Apple Store in Dallas. The security guard, a retired Dallas police officer, got into a struggle with the man, and fired the fatal shot.

"The loss of life is a tragedy and we are grateful that no one else was involved," Apple said in a statement. "Apple cares deeply about the safety of our customers and employees and we are committed to providing a secure environment for all who enter our stores."

This is believed to be the first gun fatality at an Apple Store since April of 2011, when a security guard and a group of alleged robbers got into a shootout at the Chula Vista Apple Store in California. One of the suspects was killed in that incident, per the San Diego Union Tribune.

Then shots were fired near an Apple Store in a crowded Albany, N.Y., mall in 2016, per ABC News, but no one was killed.

12 charged in $1 million phone theft ring

A dozen people, including a man who was recently signed to play in the NFL, were arrested in September for their part in a theft ring that authorities say stole iPhones and Samsung smartphones from FedEx and UPS drivers.

According to The San Francisco Chronicle, the ring carried out 61 robberies in nine months throughout California, mostly of delivery drivers as they arrived at AT&T and T-Mobile stores.

A raid on one of the suspects' homes also yielded a cache of weapons, including a full-automatic weapon.

Among those arrested was Isaiah Langley, a former USC cornerback player who was on the rosters of both the Oakland Raiders and Indianapolis Colts at different times this summer.

iPhones stolen from Calgary Apple Store

A more familiar kind of Apple Store theft took place north of the border at the end of September, when seven men ran into an Apple Store in Calgary and stole iPhones.

CBCsays that the men, who were wearing sunglasses and hoodies, took iPhones that were "functional demo units."

In Palo Alto, another Bay Area Apple Store theft

In another of a recent series of thefts from Apple Store locations in Silicon Valley, a group of thieves reportedly stole seven MacBooks from the Apple Store at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto.

As reported by The PA Daily Post, four masked thieves entered the store at 8:45 p.m. Pacific Time on Monday, and grabbed display units. A similar theft had taken place at the same store on September 20.

Credit card thief's shopping spree hit three Apple stores

Police say a Colorado man stole credit cards from a grocery store used them on a shopping spree that included visits to three different Apple Stores in a 90-minute period.

According to The Denver Channel, the accused thief took the cards from a King Sooper store in the Boulder area and then spent $23,000 at three Apple Stores.

Police-issued security camera footage of a man alleged to have stolen from three Apple Stores. (Source: The Denver Channel)

Accused serial Apple thief arrested at airport

Police in Florida have arrested a woman who they suspect is a serial Apple Store thief.

Local affiliate station NBC 2 reports that the 25-year-old woman, who police say mostly stole Apple Watches during at least four thefts at the store, was ultimately arrested before boarding a flight on October 1.

"Masked bandit" took iPhone, Apple Watches, other electronics

A thief described as a "masked bandit" broke into a South Carolina cellphone store on October 5, and took $3,600 of high-end electronics, including an iPhone and four Apple Watches.

According to Herald Online, the thief was caught on surveillance breaking the store's door with a hammer.

Apple Watches taken from Apple Store in Providence in two separate incidents

Two thieves took a total of 11 units of the Apple Watch Series 5 from a display table at an Apple Store in Providence last Sunday in what appear to be separate, unrelated thefts.

Per WPRI, police say one thief took four of the Watches and the second took the other seven. The first suspect, says the TV station, is known by retailers' "for prior larceny incidents."

Man arrested for stealing iPad, MacBook from Vegas hotel room

Police in Las Vegas have arrested a 30-year-old man who they say stole $4,000 worth of items, including a MacBook, iPad and expensive luggage, from a couple's room at the Venetian hotel in April.

According to The Las Vegas Sun, the accused thief was fraudulently able to obtain a key card that got him into the couple's room — even though he had previously been banned from the hotel and several others in Las Vegas for attempting a similar scam.

He was charged with grand larceny and burglary, and is due to appear in court on October 15.

"Gulel gang" in India accused of stealing iPad

Police in New Dehli have arrested three members of the street-level criminal organization known as the "Gulel gang," who they say stole an iPad, laptop and smartphone.

Police officers with three alleged members of the "Gulel gang"

As reported in India Today, this gang committed the crimes with the use of a three-seater auto rickshaw and a catapult, both of which have been seized by police.

Man arrested for stealing 21 iPads from school

A 38-year-old Minnesota man has been charged with felony second-degree burglary and felony theft, after he was accused of breaking into a local charter school and stealing nearly two dozen iPads.

The Post Bulletin reports that the man was caught on surveillance video, and was arrested in August.

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