We know from recent reports that Apple products are a prime target for thieves, but a new event seems to have taken the criminal desire for Apple gear to a new low.
Late last month, a thief in Lancashire, England stole an iPhone right out of the hands of a young child, The Sun reported Wednesday.
20-month-old Luella Reid was holding her mother’s iPhone while seated in her stroller at a clothing store, using the device to watch the children’s program “Barney the Friendly Dinosaur” while her mother shopped a few paces away.
When the girl’s mother, Danielle Hinnigan, returned to her daughter she realized the iPhone was missing. While initially believing that her daughter simply dropped the phone, store security cameras revealed that a male suspect slyly approached the stroller and then quickly snatched the iPhone away from the girl before making a calm exit.
The young victim, Luella, and her mother, Danielle.
“I thought maybe she had dropped it, I never thought someone would go in her pram and take it off her. I’m just glad it was just the phone and Luella was OK,” Ms. Hinnigan told The Sun.
Although captured by the store’s security camera, both the suspect and a potential female accomplice remain at large. “This is a despicable offence where it appears that the suspect has deliberately targeted a child knowing the crime would be relatively easy to commit,” West Lancashire Inspector Andy Willis said of the situation.
While many will argue that the girl’s mother should not have left her alone in a crowded area with such a desirable device, one can only hope that as Apple and its competitors continue to make powerful mobile devices the norm, that this gadget-driven crime will subside.
Teaser graphic via Shutterstock.
[via CNET]