Some U.S. shoppers fearful as organized retail theft rises

NEW YORK — Ann McGee, a New Yorker from the borough of Queens, doesn't like the recent sensation she has when entering stores: fear.

"It's not normal to be scared" when shopping, McGee told AFP. She's behind a recent petition denouncing the insecurity caused by rising retail theft -- sometimes by thieves operating in groups and threatening anyone near them with violence -- in her neighborhood.

U.S. retailers across the country have reported a sharp rise in theft in the last few months, alongside a worrying increase in violence.