Six suspects attempted to steal packages of Nike shoes and apparel from a freight train near Whittier early Thursday morning before fleeing. The attempted heist unfolded around 2:21 a.m. near 3777 Workman Mill Road, just east of the 605 Freeway, in one of the latest in a string of Southern California rail burglaries targeting high-value footwear shipments.
California Highway Patrol officers responded after Union Pacific Railroad security personnel called for assistance, according to a CHP spokesperson cited by the Press-Enterprise. By the time officers arrived, the six suspects had already fled the scene. Authorities later recovered numerous boxes — including several Nike shoe boxes — dumped below a nearby freeway overpass, though the newspaper reports the total amount of cargo stolen remains unclear.
No suspect descriptions were immediately available, leaving investigators with little to go on as they piece together how the group accessed the train and how they escaped before CHP arrived. The paper notes that the theft could leave Nike stores without some of the brand's most popular shoes and clothing in stock, at least temporarily.
Part of a Growing Pattern Along Southern California Rail Lines
The Whittier incident lands squarely within a well-documented wave of freight train burglaries hitting Southern California this year. Just days earlier, Hoodline reported that burglars torched a freight car in Riverside after forcing a train to stop so they could loot its containers. Earlier in the month, an off-duty deputy helped recover roughly $50,000 in stolen boots and tools from an Amboy train heist.
Nike shipments have also been targeted: California Highway Patrol's Cargo Theft Interdiction Program recovered more than $200,000 in stolen Nike Jordan footwear in Anaheim in November 2024 after shoes were lifted from a stopped train near Amboy, per the California Highway Patrol.
Statewide Enforcement Push and Federal Penalties
State lawmakers have moved to give agencies more firepower against these rings. Assembly Bill 1972, signed into law in August 2024, expanded the CHP's Organized Retail Crime Task Force to explicitly provide state resources for combating cargo theft, according to CalChamber. That task force made 1,707 arrests and recovered $13.5 million in stolen goods statewide during 879 investigations in 2024, according to state data reported by ContraCosta.News.
Suspects caught breaking a seal or lock on a railroad car with intent to commit larceny face federal exposure as well. Under Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 2117, that offense is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, according to the FBI, which notes the statute is part of why federal agencies often collaborate with rail police on these investigations.
The Cost of Rail Cargo Theft
Freight train burglaries cost U.S. Class I railroads more than $100 million across over 65,000 reported incidents in 2024 alone, a roughly 40% jump from 2023, per data reported by FreightWaves.
