Petty crimes. They're stealing $3 sodas, not cars. Presumably, the bodega owner is calling the cops saying "Joey's back - please get him out of my shop"
Here is an example of what small store owners have to endure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY1L62dKnU8 "El Sobrante store clerk set on fire during confrontation with shoplifter"
The absolute ignorance and distaste towards retail workers and small shop owners in the ruling class in the US is shocking.
Big box retail (no worries, all insured - remember that BS line?) is simply closing stores and killing jobs AND access to goods in one go. Cue the complaint about "food deserts". Walmart closed in Portland. WALMART which operates throughout hurricanes cannot handle the rampant violence and theft anymore.
But yeah, total ignorance from the bougie class toward the plight of blue collar Americans.
Here is a Sikh store owner beating the shit out of a robber, because vigilante justice is all that is left: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12381031/7-Eleven-o...
I see this Every. Single. Day.
It’s not bodega owners getting hit, it’s mostly franchised retail. CVS, Walgreens, Target seem to be the most common.
I asked an AP at Target why they don’t stop them, and he said it’s store policy that unless they’re lifting a felony amount, there’s just no business reason to stop them. They’ll be back the next day anyway.
People who don’t live here (or who live in nicer parts of the city) really don’t believe it, and it’s frustrating being gaslit about something you see almost every day.