Brace for TikTok-inspired flashmob looting this weekend, police warn: 48-hour dispersal order for Bexleyheath is issued after tearaways plotted chaos in Oxford Street and Southend
- A shopping centre in Bexleyheath has warned it could be targeted this weekend
Police in London are braced for further TikTok-inspired flashmob looting this weekend days after chaotic scenes saw police and youths clash in Oxford Street.
A warning has been issued for Bexleyheath in south-east London, with one shopping centre in the area saying there was a threat of it being ‘targeted by gangs of youths’.
The Metropolitan Police has vowed to increase its presence in the area after ‘social media speculation’ and has put a dispersal order in place giving officers increased powers to deal with anti-social behaviour over the weekend.
It comes as cops in Southend-on-Sea clamped down on an apparent copycat invasion that had been planned for the seaside resort, with fears of a repeat of a mass gathering that led to a mass brawl on a beach last week.
Officers from Essex Police took no chances though, as they turned away scores of balaclava-clad youths after they arrived on Thursday afternoon at Southend Central station on a train from London.
There are fears of a repeat of scenes which saw chaos on Oxford Street earlier this week as youths clashed with police. Pictured: Police officers try to stop youths as they run out of a McDonald’s in Oxford Street
Police in Southend have clamped down on a similar event by turning away youths at the train station. Pictured: Two Essex Police officers walk down the seafront in Southend on Friday
This week’s dramatic scenes on Oxford Street have sparked fears that US-style flashmob looting could become more commonplace in Britain and organised on social media apps.
Crowds gathered in Europe’s busiest shopping street on Wednesday after posts circulated on TikTok and Snapchat urging users to rob JD Sports. Nine people were arrested and Scotland Yard issued 34 dispersal orders, banning offenders from the area for 48 hours.
READ MORE HERE: DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Come down hard on these TikTok looters
In dramatic scenes cops wielding batons were seen chasing after youths and handcuffing suspected troublemakers in front of shocked shoppers, while some stores were forced to close their doors amid the mayhem.
It is believed there could be repeat scenes in another part of London this weekend, amid rumours on social media of another event in Bexleyheath.
One shopping centre, Bexleyheath Broadway, said it intended to put additional security staff on patrol this weekend to deal with any unruliness.
In a statement reported by News Shopper, it said: ‘Many of you will have seen on social media the potential threat of stores being targeted by gangs of youths who intend to steal stock.
‘They are targeting specific towns and Bexleyheath has been listed for this coming Saturday 12th August.
‘Whilst this may come to nothing, we have chosen to take the treat seriously in order that we cover every eventually.
‘We will be increasing the number of guards within the shopping centre, ensuring that one is positioned at each main entrance.
‘If we see that there is any trouble outside we will shut all entrances until everything calms down.
‘For those who trade front facing on the Square, please be assured that extra police will be patrolling throughout the day and the BID is ordering extra private security personnel who will work alongside the police to keep everyone safe.
‘If you see any activity outside that concerns you then we would encourage you to close your doors until trouble subsides.’
The Metropolitan Police has issued a dispersal order for Welling and Bexleyheath Broadway this weekend amid threats of further anti-social behaviour
The chaos in Oxford Street on Wednesday was triggered by an online push to ‘rob JD Sports’
Police were seen wrestling young men to the ground in the Oxford Street area on Wednesday
Police in Southend issued a 48-hour dispersal order for parts of the city centre and seafront
Meanwhile, the Met has put a dispersal order in place for Welling and Bexleyheath Broadway which went into effect at 4pm on Friday, August 11, and is set to last until 4pm on Sunday, August 13.
This gives means officers can order people suspected of causing trouble or intending to commit anti-social behaviour to leave the area, and allows them to arrest people if they don’t comply.
There were fears the violence seen in London on Wednesday could spread to Southend after troublemakers urged copycats to ‘get lit’ on the beach.
Essex Police yesterday set up a dispersal zone for 48 hours, giving officers the power to turn people away and stop them gathering in an area around the city centre and seafront.
The troublemakers cowering behind a cloak of anonymity
By George Odling and Jacob Dirnhube
Often hiding behind anonymous avatars and rarely publishing their real names, social media troublemakers can be fiendishly difficult to find.
The phenomenon of advertising a store looting online appears to have originated in the US, where there was a spate of rapidly organised robberies that began in 2021.
In California that November, thieves used social media to organise two raids, including the luxury department store Nordstrom.
Kevin Wilk, the mayor of Walnut Creek near San Francisco, said at the time: ‘This was not a random gathering of dozens of people, but a planned, organised attack – organised retail robbery.’
The same month, three separate Best Buy stores in Minneapolis were targeted – also by a mob of strangers thought to have been brought together by social media.
Closer to home, a schoolboy from Basildon in Essex was instrumental in drumming up support for the Oxford Street attack – and subsequent chaos in Southend yesterday.
The 15-year-old boasted on his TikTok profile that he travelled for two hours on Wednesday to take part in the central London protest and ignored orders from a police officer to leave the area.
He previously helped to organise a similar event in Southend on August 1 which saw police dispersing a group of young people, including a teenage girl who was arrested. The teenage boy shared multiple posts about the planned action in Southend yesterday.
Among those spotted on Oxford Street on Wednesday and Southend yesterday was notorious TikTok prankster Mizzy, real name Bacari-Bronze O’Garro.
The 18-year-old, who has been arrested on multiple occasions over pranks including invading people’s homes, was filmed being spoken to by police officers and given dispersal orders on both occasions. But he has insisted he was not involved in the violence or organising any chaos.
Mizzy told MailOnline today: ‘Me and my friends went to Southend just to chill on the beach in the sun. I ended up having a lot of people coming up to me which led to a big group of people screaming ‘Mizzy’.
‘As I was walking off, police came up to me and told me I had to leave. They said there had been a dispersal order already in act and they were told by the sergeant to give me a personal dispersal order, meaning I can’t come back to Southend for the next 48 hours and have to leave the area within 20 minutes or I would get arrested.
‘I think it was because of an event that happened in Southend two weeks ago where there were a big group of youths who where causing antisocial behaviour.’
Speaking publicly for the first time in June, Mizzy’s mother told the Mail that he needed to stop playing pranks and find a job. ‘I’ve had enough. Even if he goes to the shop, he does his stupid little pranks,’ she said.
‘I don’t like what he’s doing – I’m not supporting him. He needs to find a job and sort himself out. That’s what he needs to do. He’s a very clued up kid – he’s very clued up. Bacari was very good at school. He has an education.’
It followed a viral social media post which urged followers to head to Southend’s beaches and ‘get lit’ which is slang for partying and getting intoxicated with alcohol or drugs or both.
Rumours were rife that some gang members had last week armed themselves with water pistols containing acid to spray rivals at the event, dubbed the Southend Motive on social media.
The planned ‘beach motive’ for Thursday was advertised on a flyer circulating on social media as ‘Southend Mo Pt.2’ with a cation saying ‘get lit’, although it added, ‘No violence, good vibes’.
Among those given a dispersal order by Essex Police officers yesterday was notorious TikTok prankster Mizzy, real name Bacari-Bronze O’Garro.
The 18-year-old, who has been arrested on multiple occasions over pranks including invading people’s homes, posted a video on social media of him being spoken to by a police officer in the sunshine outside the seafront’s theme park Adventure Island.
Mizzy told MailOnline today that he had just been in the city to enjoy a trip to the beach – and was only spoken to because of a previous similar disturbance in the city on August 1, which saw a teenage girl arrested.
Mizzy said: ‘Me and my friends went to Southend just to chill on the beach in the sun. I ended up having a lot of people coming up to me which led to a big group of people screaming ‘Mizzy’.
‘As I was walking off, police came up to me and told me I had to leave.
‘They said there had been a dispersal order already in act and they were told by the sergeant to give me a personal dispersal order, meaning I can’t come back to Southend for the next 48 hours and have to leave the area within 20 minutes or I would get arrested.
‘I think it was because of an event that happened in Southend two weeks ago where there were a big group of youths who were causing antisocial behaviour.’
The TikTokker, who last week failed to appear before magistrates accused of breaching a court order, was also given a dispersal order by police at Oxford Street on Wednesday. He later released a video insisting he had not been involved in the chaotic scenes that day.
Officers were keeping a low profile this morning, with only a single police van visible on the seafront next to an unmanned portable police mobile building.
Local residents believe that publicity about the extra police powers encouraged troublemakers to stay away from the resort.
Gary Mansfield, 49, who rents out deckchairs on the beach for £5 a day, said: ‘The police have been taking things very seriously, and it is a good job.
‘There were loads of officers here yesterday in case anything kicked off and they set up a cordon to stop kids coming through.
‘But luckily nothing happened, and it all passed peacefully. It was just a normal busy day. We want crowds of people, but we don’t want crowds of troublemakers.
‘It is quiet again today, but I am not taking any chances. Normally, I would put out loads of deckchairs to encourage people to hire them, but I am only putting out a few today.
‘I want to be able to put away all my chairs in a hurry if trouble starts. The last thing you wants is people hurling around chairs and battering each other with them.
‘We could do without all this fuss because we have just had our worst July ever with the terrible weather. We only worked seven days in the whole of July.’
A shopkeeper on the seafront who asked not to be named said: ‘It was chaos here last Tuesday (August 1). There were hundreds of kids running around.
‘They were threatening each other and fights were starting. We heard them saying that some had acid in their water pistols.
‘Another lad was saying, ‘We are going to shoot our enemies, and if we can’t shoot enemies, we will shoot at random’.
‘One girl landed up in an ambulance, and the cops were trying desperately to keep things under control. The next door shop closed at 4.30pm and we stuck it out until 6.30pm.
‘It’s just not fair. It is giving Southend a bad name. Thank goodness, the police are taking it seriously.’
Paul Thompson, 49, the owner of Pebbles café on the seafront, said: ‘The problems on Tuesday last week involved large groups of kids aged 14 to 16 who had largely come up on trains from London.
‘People started arriving at 3pm and by 4pm there was a police dispersal order in place, but the police were caught out because there was not enough officers to enforce it.
‘There were hundreds of kids milling around and there were flashpoints, but there was no stabbings or serious violence.
Police officers talk to each other as they patrol the seafront at Southend-on-Sea on Friday
A police car is parked on the Southend’s seafront today as officers clamp down on threats of anti-social behaviour
Gary Mansfield, deckchair manager at Jubilee Beach in Southend, said the threats of anti-social behaviour had put him on edge
Paul Thompson, who owns Pebbles restaurant on Southend’s seafront, was grateful there was no repeat of disorder from last week in the city
‘There had been talk on social media about people bringing along acid in water pistols, but there is no evidence that happened. It was a more a matter of it being intimidating or families trying to enjoy themselves.
‘At one point the police made an arrest and were trying to get the person into a van when they were surrounded by kids trying to stop it and an officer had to use their spray.
‘It looked like the same event was going to be staged here again yesterday, but this time the police brought in extra resources.
‘They got a dispersal order in place in advance and were waiting at the stations to turn away youths who had mostly jumped the barriers and did not have tickets. I heard that around 200 people were turned away and sent back to London.
‘A few groups got down to the beach and were walking around in puffer jackets, balaclavas and face masks, but the police were on top of them straight away, and made them leave.
‘It was a far more robust approach. Anyone who looked like a troublemaker was confronted and searched.
‘I think it was partly as a result of what happened in Oxford Street this week, and the comments made by the Home Secretary about how tough action should be taken against the organisers.
‘There were no social media pictures or videos of anything happening yesterday which proves that the police approach worked. Hopefully, it will be a blueprint for things going forward.’
READ MORE HERE: Marks & Spencer executive warns demise of Oxford Street is fuelling crime including US-style flashmob looting
Chief Superintendent Waheed Khan, the South local policing area commander for Essex Police, said: ‘I want to be really clear that we – and of course the city’s attractions and businesses – want people to come to Southend, we want them to use all the facilities here – but we won’t tolerate crime and antisocial behaviour.
‘We have a significant policing presence in the city today. That includes the city centre, across the seafront and close to the train stations.
‘The dispersal order is by no means a blanket ban on people coming to Southend and enjoying all it has to offer, but if people come here and behave antisocially or commit crime, the reality is we’re going to take a robust approach to that and people acting that way could ultimately end up in a police cell.
‘Throughout today, and indeed as we enter this weekend, there will be an obvious police presence in city.
‘We’re there to help people and make sure people can enjoy the city safely. But equally, the officers will respond appropriately and robustly if they have to.’
It meant there were no scenes similar to those on display in Oxford Street on Wednesday, which sparked outrage with a Marks & Spencer executive to warning that ‘the jewel in London’s shopping crown’ but was now little more than ’empty shops, littered streets and fewer visitors’.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said thugs who looted stores in Oxford Street must be ‘hunted down and locked up’, and that the UK must not be allowed to plunge into ‘lawlessness’.
Sharing a video of the Oxford Street arrests on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ms Braverman wrote: ‘We cannot allow the kind of lawlessness seen in some American cities to come to the streets of the UK.
‘The police have my full backing to do whatever is necessary to ensure public order. Those responsible must be hunted down and locked up.’
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said it was closely monitoring the situation amid fears copycats will target high streets across the country.
Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association, said he was ‘appalled’ by the scenes in Oxford Street and warned that copycats could become a ‘real issue’ in other parts of the country.
He added: ‘Theft from shops is a big enough problem already without this type of activity being promoted on social media. Large retail chains often employ security guards, but that option is not open to the smaller retailers.
‘The police were proactive in Oxford Street. But they have the resources in London. If these criminal activities were to move to smaller towns, we would see a real issue for the retail businesses in those places.’
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