The real Grinch stole a Christmas tree in broad daylight (4 photos + 2 videos)
Category: Interesting photo stories, PEGI 16
10 December 2023
The theft occurred last Friday in the parking lot of a shopping center in San Mateo, a crime-ridden area of California. The attacker stole a $250 Christmas tree from the roof of a car in a matter of seconds. 
The thief parked next to a black SUV, quickly cut the ropes and placed the tree in his white Infiniti.
Police are still looking for the culprit, but the store gave the family a new tree to make up for the shocking loss. 
This area of California, known as the San Francisco Bay Area, is crime-ridden. The number of robberies this year has increased by 13.7%, and the number of vehicle thefts has increased by 6.5%.
Dozens of stores and businesses have closed in the Golden Gate City due to rising crime, drug use and homelessness. 
Last month, a San Francisco woman filmed herself walking through the heroin ghettos that have turned the city into a symbol of squalor and despair.
“The fear we feel as we commute to work every day in the Tenderloin is simply indescribable,” says the American. “The drug addicts and the homeless are cared for more than the working class, who have to pray to get to and from work in such conditions. Everyone We put ourselves in danger every day to provide for our families."
Economists call the crisis a "doom loop," where tax revenues fall as residents and businesses flee the city. San Francisco's office vacancy rate is 34%, according to a recent CBRE analysis. The city loses $200 million annually as large businesses move away. Thus, Starbucks closed seven coffee shops, and Microsoft vacated an office with an area of 4,500 sq.m.
