This time of the year is supposed to be about giving, not taking. But it appears not everyone got the message. Security camera footage out of San Mateo, California captures the moment when someone stole one family’s Christmas tree from the roof of their vehicle in broad daylight, and it’s all a bit strange to watch.
The video shows someone driving an Infiniti QX80 past the tree-carrying Honda CR-V before reversing and parking in the spot beside it. The driver gets out of the SUV, walks over to the Honda, and snips the tie-downs that secured the tree before returning to the Infiniti.
The driver waits several seconds before exiting again, opening the Infiniti’s liftgate. They then yank the tree off the roof of the other car, quickly stuffing it in the back of their vehicle. The driver struggles to close the hatch, slamming it a few times before it’s secured. They hop back inside the QX80, quickly driving from the scene with what appears to be a bit of the tree hanging out of the back.
According to the local ABC 7 News affiliate, the incident happened Friday evening while the victim, a man named Jesus, ran an errand inside a local business. The San Mateo Police Department told the news outlet that it hasn’t identified the suspected tree thief. NBC Bay Area reported that the victim declined to file a police report.
The whole incident is weird. The driver’s thievery took several minutes to complete, yet no one seemed to notice. It’s a brazen theft for something as cheap as a Christmas tree, and we’re left asking why someone would steal it in the first place.
The police department told ABC 7 that the incident is “unique,” and we’re wondering if there is more to the story. In this day and age, anything could be a stunt for views and likes, but if that were the case here, we’d call this a failure.
Motor1 left a message with the San Mateo Police Department seeking additional information about the incident. The family received a replacement tree.
