By Mike Hazlip–
Quick response from Citrus Heights police is credited with helping minimize damage from looters in recent days, but the city wasn’t without incident.
Damage from looting on Sunday night could be seen at a few locations in Citrus Heights this week, as the greater-Sacramento area continues to see protests over the death of George Floyd. Floyd died on May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer pinned him to the ground with a knee on his neck for over eight minutes.
Looters targeted Sunrise Mall sometime after the mall closed Sunday night, breaking one of the glass doors at the entrance. A boarded-up portion of the entrance could still be seen Wednesday afternoon.
Once inside the mall, looters broke into Journey’s by smashing a glass window. An employee at the location said some merchandise and cash was taken from the register. She said quick response by police stationed nearby prevented further looting.
Looting: Authorities say enhanced penalties are in effect for shoplifting, theft
Staff at Sacramento Black Rifle on Greenback Lane near Fair Oaks Boulevard have been keeping watch over their store on recent nights to prevent looting, according to posts on the gun shop’s Facebook page. Windows and doors have been boarded up as a preventative measure, although the location remains open during the day.
Citrus Heights police were seen Wednesday night outside the Target store in the Marketplace at Birdcage, with a police SUV parked prominently in front of a row of shopping carts that were blocking the entrance with wood palettes behind the glass doors.
Boarded-up windows and doors could also be seen at Ulta Beauty in the same shopping center.
Related: Looters arrested after hitting Citrus Heights store, fleeing at 100 MPH
Citrus Heights police said in a statement Monday that they are deploying additional resources because of looting concerns in suburban areas of Sacramento.
“Due to our extra deployment we were able to make multiple arrests related to these crimes, as well as recover most of the stolen property,” police said regarding Sunday night’s incidents. No looting occurred on Monday or Tuesday nights, police later said.
There have been multiple reports of widespread looting in downtown Sacramento. According to CBS 13, The Galleria at Roseville also closed temporarily as a precautionary measure on Monday.
