Palo Alto Apple Store Robbed Twice in 12 Hours After iPhone XS Launch

The Apple Store in Palo Alto was robbed twice in less than 12 hours over the past weekend. All in all, over $100,000 worth of electronics was stolen, according to a new report.

While Apple Stores have become popular targets for thieves over the last few years, the Palo Alto Apple Store may be setting an unfortunate record for its two robberies. Both raids occurred over the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max launch weekend, Palo Alto Online reported earlier this week.

The brick-and-mortar Apple location, which is bloated at 340 University Ave in Palo Alto, was first hit around 7 p.m. on Saturday, local authorities said.

Eight men wearing hoodies entered the location and made off with about $57,000 worth of Apple products — including new iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max models. After the robbery, the suspects fled in multiple vehicles, according to police.

Less than 12 hours later, a passerby noticed that the store’s front glass door had been smashed early Sunday morning. They called the police around 5:50 a.m. to report the incident.

Investigators determined that the robber or robbers had broken into the Apple Store using “river rocks or coconut-sized boulders.” Around $50,000 worth of iPhones, iPads and other Apple products was stolen in the second raid.

As of the writing of this article, no suspects in either robbery have been identified or arrested by police. Investigators are also unsure whether the two incidents are connected.

The Palo Alto police department is asking anyone with information related to the crimes to contact them via phone, email or mobile app.

• Tippers can contact the department 24 hours a day by calling 650-329-2413.
• Anonymous tips may be sent by text or voicemail to 650-383-8984, or sent via email to paloalto@tipnow.org.
• Tips can also be sent via the PAPD’s app, available here for iOS or here for Android. Notably, Apple CEO Tim Cook had been at the Palo Alto Apple Store location on Friday to celebrate the launch of the new 2018 iPhone lineup.It’s worth noting that demo products at Apple Stores are outfitted with a kill switch that disables them once they get out of range of the location’s Wi-Fi network. So the stolen products may very well be useless.