Selfridges robbery: 'Men in burkas' in 'smash and grab'

Six men armed with axes have carried out a "smash-and-grab" raid at London's Selfridges department store.

www.bbc.co.uk...

Members of the public helped catch two of the robbers, so I think the others will be caught soon enough.
Good Idea for a disguise though.

very interesting all round.

there is one question that needs to be seriously asked about this incident tho, why were the moped riders pined down and pretty much assaulted after they crashed? is it normal for this to happen? seriously is it normal to pin to the ground people who crash this type of vehicle, as from the story this happened about a mile away from the crime. just HOW did they KNOW that these were robbers and even that the robbery had even taken place? because someone noticed a "bag with watches and jewelry? couldn't this have been a business person or other legitimate person? why the "must be a robber better take them down" mentality?

something about this just does not feel right at all.

reply to post by generik


My guess is the guys fell off, the bag spilled its contents, people saw that the Burka wearers were dressed in Nikes, bling ect underneath put two and two together when they started to shout stuff like "Eeek the swag !! grab the swag".
But heck I dunno

reply to post by boymonkey74


I don't care about religion, but public safety is needed. If you can't show face, then your not allowed anywhere.

Can i make up a religion with ridiculous ideologies and try to merge them in public setting?

"my religion allows me to walk naked on Sundays"

...i barely see a full burka cover in Toronto, i see many headscarf, which is fine by me, you could still see the face.

Full burkas are unsightly.. i seen many picture of such women who are hot(photos taken at home).. but i guess their men are too insecure... if i had a hot wife or gf.. im not gonna hide her.

reply to post by luciddream


I agree I do not think anyone should have their face covered at all (unless it is halloween) 90% of communication is not speech but facial movements, eye contact etc.
The french banned it we should also.

reply to post by generik


It was about 250m away from the store and yes, it is not unknown in Britain for people to batter criminals - when they aren't "tooled up". In point of fact, it still happens over here occasionally when criminals are tooled up too - for example Great Britain Prop (Rugby League) Ryan Bailey's dad battered a gun toting robber in a betting shop.

Frankly, i like the fact that members of the public gave them a kicking whilst waiting for the Police.

I also agree with Boymonkey - a good disguise, particularly as at least one of them is white (see pics and look at hands).

reply to post by boymonkey74
Honestly I wondered how long it would take before some idiots tried to use burkas as a disguise. I'm just surprised it hasn't happened here. I figure it's just a matter of time, although they wouldn't have much of a chance of getting away with it because burkas aren't as common here as in other countries.

Originally posted by generik
very interesting all round.

there is one question that needs to be seriously asked about this incident tho, why were the moped riders pined down and pretty much assaulted after they crashed? is it normal for this to happen? seriously is it normal to pin to the ground people who crash this type of vehicle, as from the story this happened about a mile away from the crime. just HOW did they KNOW that these were robbers and even that the robbery had even taken place? because someone noticed a "bag with watches and jewelry? couldn't this have been a business person or other legitimate person? why the "must be a robber better take them down" mentality?

something about this just does not feel right at all.

My thoughts exactly. There is something that doesn't stack up. Also, on the news, it was stated that Selfridges re-opened about 20 minutes after the event. How did they know it was safe to do so? Did they know that there weren't any more bad guys in the store? Did they do a life of Brian search? The reaction these days is to video everything on a phone, but not get involved. I don't think we know the facts about this. I suppose it does help to spread more racial hatred though, and that always helps. I just though of another thing - MOPEDS? they'd have been better off catching a bus.

reply to post by tazdeill2


What racial hatred? Did you miss the very white hands on the perpetrator that was pinned down?

I love the fact that these days people capture stuff happening live and yet you still get the claims of "it didn't happen" and similar.

From the story - the thieves dropped some loot and crashed about 250 metres from the shop and were then grabbed by people in the street. Well done to those people says I. Hopefully a swift kick was also doled out.

ETA:

Buses don't work either, to be fair. Plenty of stories out there of criminals being nicked whilst waiting for a bus. I think if you are going to do this, you have to accept the possibility that members of the public may give you a kicking if it goes wrong.

Originally posted by Flavian
reply to post by tazdeill2

 

What racial hatred? Did you miss the very white hands on the perpetrator that was pinned down?

I love the fact that these days people capture stuff happening live and yet you still get the claims of "it didn't happen" and similar.

From the story - the thieves dropped some loot and crashed about 250 metres from the shop and were then grabbed by people in the street. Well done to those people says I. Hopefully a swift kick was also doled out.

One of them was wearing a burka????
I think you missed my point. Never mind

reply to post by tazdeill2


Quite a few reports these days of people wearing burkhas to conceal identity, for whatever reason - white, black and asian.

For the very simple reason they conceal identity, it is a good disguise. And although not commonplace, it is not uncommon either to see people wearing a burkha, so a very good disguise. Provided you can carry it off! Black was never really my colour.........

reply to post by Flavian

At my age, many people have suggested I wear the full gear. Fortunately, black is my colour so......