The Metropolitan Police made nine arrests yesterday as hundreds of teenagers gathered outside JD Sports as a robbery campaign went viral on Snapchat and TikTok.
A wider dispersal order covering a large area of the West End is in effect until Friday morning and the police handed out 34 dispersal orders after TikTok and Snapchat posts went viral urging users to take part in an Oxford Street robbery at JD Sports at 3pm.
The police made two arrests shortly after 3pm close to the JD Sports store as security guards of nearby stores locked their doors with customers inside in anticipation of trouble.
Commenting on yesterday’s incident, home secretary Suella Braverman said: “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.
“I expect nothing less from the Metropolitan Police and have requested a full incident report.”
Stores including Muji and Boots lowered their metal shutters as chaos ensued on one of the busiest shopping streets in the UK.
Traffic on Oxford Street was temporarily stopped as four police officers on horseback struggled to manage crowds of people trying to capture the incident on video and private security personnel urged the crowds to move on.
The Metropolitan Police said: “Four people were arrested on suspicion of breaching the dispersal order, one person was arrested on suspicion of going equipped to steal, one person arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, and one person was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence.
“Earlier in the afternoon, officers arrested two people in Essex for conspiracy to commit robbery following online social media posts.”
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