Chaos as youths descend onto London's famous Oxford Street after calls to 'loot shops' were made on Tik Tok, imitating recent scenes in New York

Tom Cotterill
Daily Mail
Thu, 10 Aug 2023 09:30 UTC

Large groups of young people were seen running away from police amid the clashes on Oxford Street

Shocking video has shown police wielding batons clashing with dozens of youths in London's Oxford Street this afternoon after chaos erupted when a social media-fuelled campaign to 'rob JD Sports' and shoplift went viral.

Nine people have been arrested by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of offences including assaulting a police officer, going equipped to steal and breaching a dispersal order at the shopping hotspot today.

Footage from the scene shows officers chasing after youths outside the Microsoft store in Europe's busiest shopping street with their batons raised, with some being wrestled away by police and put in handcuffs.

An online poster advertising the mayhem has been shared across various social media platforms (pictured)

Videos from earlier in the day showed cops simultaneously grappling with two youths, slamming one to the floor and pinning the other to the wall by McDonald's. A third was later witnessed fleeing behind JD Sports before being detained. In dramatic scenes one cop appeared to be punched in the face by one youth.

Today's chaos was triggered following a widely shared post over social media calling on thugs to 'rob' JD sports and other stores this afternoon. A poster plugging the carnage urged yobs to follow a 'dress code' of balaclavas and gloves. 'Don't come if you can't run,' it said before warning: 'Don't bring any weapons.'

Comment: Footage of the incident:

A dispersal order has been put in place from 11am on Tuesday to 10am on Thursday, giving police the power to ban people from the area for 48 hours. Anyone who does not comply can be arrested.

The two males caught on film being detained were done so for breaching the dispersal order. A third boy, believed to be in his early teens, was chased down Oxford Street and attempted to hide behind scaffolding attached to the Uniqlo store opposite JD Sports.

He was also given a dispersal order.

The Met's City of Westminster Police Twitter account said that officers had 'responded to a disturbance from within the group of people outside the Microsoft store and not a report of people looting,' adding that there was 'no report of people attempting to enter the store'.

In a statement, the force said: 'Throughout Wednesday, August 9, officers maintained a high visibility presence within the Oxford Street area.

'As of 8.15pm officers have issued 34 people with dispersal orders and made nine arrests.

'Four people were arrested on suspicion of breaching the dispersal order, one person was arrested on suspicion of going equipped to steal, one person arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and one person was arrested on susicion of a public order offence.

'Earlier in the afternoon officers arrested two people in Essex for conspiracy to commit robbery following online social media posts.'

Earlier in the day a spokesperson for the force said: 'We continue to have a highly visible presence in the Oxford Street area.

'We will deal robustly with anyone coming to the West End intent on committing crime.'

In a separate video, infamous TikTokker Mizzy - whose previous 'pranks' have seen him and his followers invading people's homes and causing mayhem in Oxford Street's Primark store - was also filmed being stopped by police.

Sporting bright purple hair, it is unclear if the shirtless 18-year-old - whose real name is Bacari-Bronze O'Garro - was taking part in the 'mass shoplifting event'. But he was turned away from the area by officers.

MailOnline understands security staff were bracing themselves for 'widespread disorder' amid fears the incident could descend into chaos, in a repeat of scenes from August last year which saw gangs of youths vandalising shops and a Ferrari, and even assaulting police officers.

The Vision Express and Boots stores were temporarily shut this afternoon as police sought to clampdown on the disorder.

Both high street stores pulled their shutters down as dozens of officers descended on McDonald's while shoppers and tourists gathered on the pavements.

Both stores re-opened swiftly after the dispersal orders were made. MailOnline has contacted Microsoft for comment.

Speaking earlier today, London Mayor Sadiq Khan pleaded with people not to take part in the event, which he branded 'social media nonsense'.

'I am worried about this nonsense we have seen on TikTok encouraging people to go to Oxford Street,' he said.

'The police understand why some people may be tempted to go to that part of London because of the TikTok.

'I'd encourage anybody who's seen it not to go to Oxford Street. Do not allow yourself to be sucked into an area that could be high-crime area.

'It won't be (a high-crime area) because the police work incredibly hard with the local community with the retailers in that part of London, and with those citizens who want to have a good day out on Oxford Street tomorrow rather than being worried about that sort of nonsense.'

Cops mounted on horseback are expected to be among those patrolling the streets to tackle any potential disorder.

The Met Police said on Twitter: 'We are aware of online speculation about opportunities to commit crime around Oxford Street.

'There will be a significant number of our officers in the area over the next 24 hours. Anyone committing a crime can expect to be dealt with robustly.'

A police spokesman added: 'We are working very closely with our partners, including [retail consortium] the New West End Company, to ensure that any criminal behaviour is dealt with quickly.'

Stores in the renowned London shopping precinct have been warned the mayhem is likely to be attended by youths aged '16 to 25', New West End Company (NWEC) said in a security briefing to retailers.

The firm said it would be stepping up patrols in Oxford Street, supporting the Met Police in deterring yobs.

In its warning, seen by MailOnline, NWEC added there were fears this afternoon's proposed carnage could replicate a similar incident last August.

'On 12/08/22, a similar event resulted in widespread disorder within the NWEC patch. Multiple stores were vandalised and experienced steaming incidents (understood as shoplifting in crowds at speed) with multiple police officers assaulted. Numerous arrests were made as police attempted to gain control of the situation,' it said.

Oxford Street has become a focal point for social media stunts, with teenage tearaway Mizzy previously leading a gang of yobs into Primark, where they proceeded to trash the clothes store.

Mizzy - real name Bacari-Bronze O'Garro - has gained online notoriety for a series of filmed stunts, including invading the homes of strangers, stealing a woman's dog and entering the cab of a train.

He was handed a two-year criminal behaviour order in May, banning him from filming members of the public for social media videos without their consent.

In one of his videos, he filmed himself running and holding a camera followed by a large group of youths down the famous shopping hotspot in London.

The social media prankster was seen loudly egging on his followers before shouting: 'Primark! Ay, Primark!'

While screaming 'Wehay!', O'Garro led the large group, many of whom were filming the incident on their mobile phones, into Primark.

O'Garro and some his followers got up on tables and counters at the till and threw products across the floor - one boy could be seen hitting poles together.

O'Garro then, while continuing to run around the shop, shouted: 'Go subscribe to Mizzy!'

He then led his followers around the shop and headed back to the door, shouting 'Everyone out! Out!'

His young followers could be heard cheering their idol on, saying things like: 'I love Mizzy!'

The notorious TikToker will be back in court next month after he failed to appear before magistrates last week for breaching a court order.

Comment: No doubt the youths in the UK, who are notorious for imitating their peers in the US, have been inspired by the very real criminality plaguing liberal cities in America - just one example can be seen in the footage below of a gang looting Yves St Laurent in California. In addition, this follows another recent incident that occurred just a few days ago, whereby a Tik Tok influencer's attempt to organise a prize giveaway resulted in hundreds of youths descending onto New York's Union Square, and that quickly descended into chaos, with some minor thefts. And it's likely that this was the main spark of inspiration for many. One also recalls the recent rioting in France that, no doubt, the youths will have seen footage of.

It's quite telling as to the psychology of the youths, and the state of society that, not only can they be whipped up into a frenzy with little more than a social media post, that they're actually keen to copy the criminality of their peers over in the US, but also that the fabric of society is so weak that they see the chaos, and potential for gains, as a reason to get excited, and they see no shame in doing so.

However this kind of mass mania and social contagion, and its severity, has been on the rise for at least a decade. It's likely that the lockdowns and subsequent Black Lives Matters protest and riots also reinforced this kind of mentality and behaviour.

It's also true that as the quality of life for most people in the UK has evidently begun to deteriorate, with poverty on the rise and with many more families struggling to get by, that there is a general feeling of malaise in society, and in particular amongst impoverished and disaffected youth: