Police are investigating a brazen robbery at a cellphone repair shop in East Oakland.
Surveillance video showed Mr. Phone Repair being ransacked by several suspects in a flash-mob-style burglary around 6 a.m. Wednesday.
The cellphone repair shop also sells new electronics and offers customers affordable prepaid plans.
One of the shop’s owners, Abdullah Mohammed, said his business does a lot to help the community.
“Sometimes they’re short on money, we will let them go,” he said. Adding, “We fix about 10 to 15 phones every single day.”
He said he called 911 repeatedly to report the burglary, even as the crime was in progress.
“When I called 911, she told me, and I quote, she said ‘Stop calling this, because this is an emergency line.’ Like this is not an emergency. Like 15 people broke in. That’s a crime isn’t it?” Mohammed said.
He said he then began calling the non-emergency line.
“I’m on hold for 10 minutes and nobody …