Packs of Young Robbers Hit LA Last Night: Police

A dozen people—all but one of them juveniles—were arrested in Hollywood last night in what, based on the LA Times' supercharged description, was a pretty apocalyptic scene. The streets were filled with "marauding bands of youths," who roamed about robbing tourists and storefronts, assaulting people at random, and committing acts of violence, the paper reports. These "packs of young people," as the paper describes them, victimized at least four people, and took one business's entire cash register.

Police believe there were as many as 50 robbers out there, and they deployed more than 110 officers to deal with them. Police say they don't believe the crimes are related to the roiling George Zimmerman protests, though they suspect some were involved in the violent looting that broke out around them. "They were not engaged in any kind of protest," a police sergeant said. "I think this specific group came up to riot and cause problems." (More riots stories.)