If These Kids Are Stealing to Eat, How Does It Explain This Behavior at One DC Area CVS?

 

It’s only a matter of time before a CVS in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., joins the fate of so many companies in Democrat-run cities and closes up shop. 

According to the store’s employees, shelves are routinely bare due to dozens of teens who regularly raid the location for food and beverages, and for merchandise to sell to street vendors. 

The 45 or so teens know when the store gets new shipments in, and plan their raids around that time.  

FOX 5 walked down 14th Street passing by street venders and noticed were selling items like toothbrushes, men and women body wash, car fresheners, and laundry and cleaning supplies – which are some of the same items no longer available inside the CVS. However, there is no direct evidence that those goods came from the store. (FOX 5)

Some locals appeared to excuse the behavior. 

“[I]t’s bad to do, but they’re probably doing it for a reason, they need those things, but they shouldn’t just be going in and clearing the shelves because it’s not sustainable for the store," one customer told FOX 5.  

"A lot of people can’t actually afford things in CVS, I’m not saying stealing has to be the solution to that," another DC Resident said, according to the report. "However, I don’t know, maybe, if the city could provide more accessible resources to unhoused or under income folks who can provide them hair care, bodily care, hygiene care – that could be an option."

Not all of them are even stealing to eat or sell for a profit, however. According to the report, some teens are taking the food and drinks and stomping on them, "leaving behind a big mess," which is at odds with how some Democratic lawmakers have dismissed theft as people "stealing bread to feed their children."

CVS store in Washington D.C. no longer has any items left on the shelves

Packs of teens come every night to loot stuff and resell them on the street.

Residents in the area were asked about the shoplifting. They defended it. pic.twitter.com/oS7LKbLMBj

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) October 4, 2023

The report comes as up to 900 stores are set to close through the end of 2024, part of a pattern of large retailers closing, such as competitors RiteAid and Walgreens, as well as Target, Starbucks, and McDonald's. Rampant theft and local crime have not only hit the companies' bottom lines, but is also affecting the safety of employees and customers.