Return the phones!: Apple sends warning to thieves who looted iPhones during Los Angeles riots
Looters who stole
iPhones
during riots in Los Angeles got an unexpected message from Apple: 'Please return to
Apple Tower Theatre
. This device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be alerted.'
Several display phones, stolen from the
Apple
Tower Theatre store in downtown LA amid anti-ICE protests, were remotely locked and triggered alarms, effectively turning the devices into high-tech bait. Videos circulating online show the phones flashing the message while blaring loudly, making them impossible to ignore.
The video, of BG on the Scene, was shared by startup founder Mario Nawfal who wrote on X, "Looters ransacked the Apple Store at Tower Theatre during downtown LA protests. They smashed glass, grabbed phones, laptops, and whatever else wasn't nailed down. But Apple doesn't play. The stolen iPhones were display models. When stolen, they locked up, blared alarms, and flashed this message:
'Please return to Apple Tower Theatre.
This device has been disabled and is being tracked.
Local authorities will be alerted.'
Translation: Congratulations, you've stolen a brick that tattles."
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The incident occurred Monday evening, as protests—initially peaceful—entered their fourth day. Demonstrators had taken to the streets starting June 9 to oppose Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the city. However, tensions escalated into riots, with vandals targeting multiple storefronts, including a Jordan Flagship store and the Apple Store.
— MarioNawfal (@MarioNawfal)
Live Events
Footage and photos from the scene showed shattered glass, looted merchandise, and graffiti scrawled across the Apple Store's windows. A nearby jewelry store was also ransacked.
According to LAPD Officer Chris Miller, at least three suspects were apprehended in connection to the Apple Store burglary. One woman was arrested on the spot, while two others were detained for looting.
Authorities say the unrest was largely concentrated within a five-block radius downtown. By Tuesday, nearly 200 people had been detained, and at least seven officers injured in the chaos.
Since the protests began on Saturday, LAPD has made nearly 400 arrests. Most were for failure to disperse, though a few involved more serious charges—including assaulting police officers and possession of dangerous weapons like Molotov cocktails and firearms.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and leaders of more than 30 smaller cities in California called for an end to the federal immigration sweeps that have disrupted many regions in the state. At a news conference, Bass suggested that the raids were done simply to "cause fear and panic."
Her comments came just hours after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Senate hearing that troops could be sent to other cities if law enforcement officers were threatened there. At the White House, Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, also insisted that the "left wing riots" would not halt the ICE raids.
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