Flash Mob Loots 7-11 Store in Germantown, Maryland

Aug. 16, 2011 -- A flash mob invaded a 7-11 convenience store in Germantown, Md., early Saturday morning, stole all the snacks and candy they could get their hands on, then left the store as quickly as they came.

"It was anarchy for 60 seconds," said Montgomery County Police spokesman Paul Starks. "We've counted at least 28 individuals we can see on the surveillance tape." Starks said police suspect the mob was organized using social media like Facebook or Twitter.

The term flash mob was first used to describe impromptu gatherings of people to sing or dance in a public space, alerted by text, email or Twitter, but the Germantown incident is just the latest in a summer when flash mobs have turned from spontaneous, fun events to outright felony.

On July 4 in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, a group of 1,000 youths organized through social networking sites to fight and disrupt an event. In Washington, D.C., a flash mob robbed a high-end clothing store earlier this summer.

On August 5, a flash mob stormed the fairgrounds at the Wisconsin state fair in Milwaukee. "My mom just got attacked by a flash mob," said a caller to 911. "Punched in the face for no reason. We need emergency help right away."

According to Brad Garrett, a former FBI special agent and now an ABC News consultant, "crowd mentality" takes over once a group has been gathered by cell phone. "People who would not otherwise rob or steal end up doing just that."

"These incidents can turn violent, they can injure customers, they can damage the store and then there's the financial losses the retailers suffer," said Joe La Rocca, spokesperson for the National Retail Federation. The NRF estimates that about one in ten stores has been the victim of a of a flash mob invastion and robbery. In most cases, by the time the police arrive, the mob is long gone, making for a long arduous process to identify and prosecute the culprits.

In Germantown, Md., police spokesman Starks says the store clerk pressed the silent alarm when he belatedly realized there was a robbery in progress, and a police cruiser responded in under a minute. But by then, the mob was gone.