Thieves dressed as Santa and elves raid Montreal grocery store, claim inspiration from Robin Hood

By Max Saltman, CNN

(CNN) — ‘Twas the week before Christmas in a Montreal store, when Santa stole groceries, then walked out the door.

A group of thieves wearing Santa Clause and elf costumes stole cartloads of groceries from a supermarket in Montreal on Monday night, with an activist group later claiming credit for what they said was a Robin Hood-inspired heist to provide food to the needy.

Montreal Police Spokesperson Johany Charland told CNN that around 9:40 p.m. on Monday night, a group of people stole “what we assume is food” from the store.

“The investigation is still ongoing,” Charland said, with police combing through camera footage and interviewing witnesses.

Charland said that the police could not comment on the motive claimed by the activists.

Edited video posted by activist group “Les Soulèvements du Fleuve” on Instagram shows several individuals dressed in Santa suits – complete with big, white beards – and elf hats raiding the shelves of a Metro grocery store in Montreal.

The groceries, the group claims, were then “redistributed” to those in need by the “Robins of the Alleys” – an apparent nod to the legendary figure of Robin Hood, who stole from the rich to give to the poor.

The group said in another post that some of the goods were left under a tree in a Montreal neighborhood and some distributed to community fridges. Les Soulèvements du Fleuve included a photo of gift bags underneath a tree, but did not post footage of the “redistribution.”

“A handful of businesses are holding our vital needs hostage,” Les Soulèvements du Fleuve said in the post. “They continue to suffocate the population, to siphon (from) them as much money as possible, simply because they can. For us, this is theft and they are the thieves.”

According to reporting by CNN’s Canadian broadcast partner CBC, the latest inflation metrics from the Canadian government show that grocery prices in the country grew nearly 5% year-over-year, despite lessening inflation in other categories.

In a statement to CNN, the Metro grocery chain’s spokesperson Geneviève Grégoire said that whatever the stated motives, retail crime is “unacceptable.”

“Many factors influence food inflation, including disruptions in the global supply chain, volatility in commodity prices, changes in international trade conditions, and retail crime,” Grégoire said. “The prices on store shelves directly reflect the costs of the supply chain.”

Gregoire added that the chain has contributed millions of dollars to charity, “including 1.15 million dollars to food banks, and provided 81.6 million dollars’ worth of food products.”

CNN reached out to Les Soulèvements du Fleuve for comment.

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