Footage of Mob Ransacking California Gas Station Sparks Outrage

A viral video of a gas station in California being ransacked has sparked outrage at the looters, governor and the police response.

The clip has so far been viewed more than 2 million times on Twitter since being posted on Sunday.

The footage showed over 100 people attempting to break in an Arco gas station in Compton, California, early Sunday morning, according to reports.

Eventually, the group of people broke through the glass doors and flooded into the store to steal from and damage the establishment while staff hid in the bathroom, according to an ABC7 report.

Deputy Miguel Meza of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Compton station spoke to ABC7 about the incident and said thousands of dollars worth of goods were stolen.

He also addressed the police's difficulty in dealing with the situation. Authorities said they had been responding to various incidents through the night and are currently limited with their staffed personnel.

They added they "couldn't intervene with the giant takeover groups for safety concerns" as they were "outnumbered."

Meza LASD said: "Our number one problem is not having the personnel, the units to respond to street takeovers.

"If we have those personnel respond to just street takeovers there's no one else left."

Social media users have raged at the police's lack of response and California Governor Gavin Newsom for the incident while also condemning those looting in the footage.

Twitter user Proud Army Brat wrote: "Compton, California thugs breaking into a gas station convenience store, stealing everything in sight, after first blocking off an intersection. Sickening parents, raising these hoodlums!"

Retired counselor Marc Cooper wrote: "Many people hold no values in common with society. When the checks on their behavior are removed they simply revert to their own system of values."

Other social media users took more issues with Newsom and insisted it was important to be armed for situations where the police does not intervene.

Twitter user Blanco wrote: "Now we All know Gavin Newsom sees and watches allllll this stuff. It's been going on now for years. Nothing gets done. NOTHING"

Twitter user Skip Solis agreed and wrote: "This is what @GavinNewsom
wants all of America to look like. He loves the crime and lawlessness in CA, and want to bring the same to our cities."

The Twitter page, The Dirty Truth (Josh) also commented: "Perfect example of why A.R. 15 with a 30-round magazine is necessary."

Twitter user Rebeccaradfor15 added a similar comment and said: "The police were outnumbered but they want you to give up your guns ~ nah"

Newsweek has contacted the Compton Police Department via the contact form on its website for comment.