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Giant Food stores in D.C. area ban duffel bags to thwart theft
While some major retailers are investing in AI to combat shoplifters, Giant Food supermarket chain is taking a low-tech approach: It is banning large bags in some stores.
“Giant Food initiated a new policy at select stores that are experiencing high shrink to mitigate the unprecedented levels of product theft that have become unsustainable for our business,” the company said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch.
As of May 23, customers are prohibited from bringing suitcases, duffel bags or bags larger than 14″ x 14″ x 6″ into certain Giant stores. The chain will still permit customers to use their own reusable shopping bags. The policy is in place at Giant supermarkets in Washington, D.C., and select additional locations in the region, a company spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch.
“We need to be able to run our stores safely and profitably, and we take these responsibilities seriously. The tactics we deploy are only one of the solutions to our problem,” the spokesperson said.
Giant added that retail theft is so pervasive at its stores that it’s limiting product availability putting both associates and customers in harm’s way.
Other large retailers have taken steps to combat shoplifting like putting popular, easy-to-steal items behind locked shelves. But such anti-theft measures can turn away paying customers who don’t want to wait for an attendant just to add a pack of peanuts to their shopping bags.
Walmart, in its latest earnings call, said it was testing the use of AI to catch thieves.
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — One person was killed and eight others were hurt after a shooting late on July 4, Philadelphia police said.
The shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. near 60th Street and Kingsessing Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia.
Police said an officer found a victim with gunshot wounds lying in the middle of the street and then other officers were called to the scene. Police found a total of nine victims, five of whom are adults and four who are teenagers.
“Our officers were in the area doing a routine patrol and observed someone laying on the ground,” Philadelphia Police Inspector Kpana Massaquoi said.
CBS News Philadelphia
The victim who was killed was an adult. Police said the teenage victims are between 16 and 17 years old.
Some victims were found at the scene, while others showed up at nearby hospitals.
Medics transported five victims to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and another was taken by private vehicle to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania’s Cedar Avenue location. Two teens were taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and another person arrived at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Delaware County.
Massaquoi said he believed the surviving victims were in stable condition.
Police didn’t mention a motive or suspects for the shooting but said large crowds were being broken up throughout the night.
“It is very alarming, and especially when we have officers in the area to try to prevent anything like this from happening, and it still happened,” Massaquoi said.
The mass shooting happened about one year after 5 people were killed less than a mile away, in the area of 54th Street and Chester Avenue. That was one of the deadliest mass shootings in Philadelphia history.
Kingsessing had just honored the victims of that shooting with a vigil on July 3.
