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A CVS store manager was killed on the job by a man suspected of shoplifting, police say — the latest example of a US retail theft epidemic that is becoming increasingly deadly.

Michael Jacobs, 49 — an operations manager at CVS Pharmacy in Mesa, Ariz., where he had worked for the past 20-plus years — was shot and killed allegedly by Jared Sevey in the evening hours of Sept. 7, according to KKTV 11 News.

Sevey, 39, was reportedly inside the Arizona CVS location earlier that day, arguing with Jacobs about shoplifting, KKTV reported. After the conflict, Sevey went home to get a gun.

Sevey admitted to police that he shot Jacobs because he was “tired of being bullied,” and “this was the last straw,” according to the news outlet.

The Post has sought comment from CVS, which has already resorted to installing built-in locks on freezer doors and putting padlocks around necessities like deodorant and toothbrushes at its locations in major US cities.

Jacobs left behind two children and his wife of 23 years, Stacy. Jacobs’ family has started a GoFundMe page, saying that “CVS has not even reached out to us to discuss medical expenses along with funeral expenses.” The GoFundMe has already collected over 200 donations totaling $15,402.

It’s the latest incident in a lethal trend. In April, a 26-year-old Home Depot employee was fatally shot after confronting a woman attempting to steal from the home improvement retailer’s Pleasanton store, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to KKTV.

Just days earlier, a pregnant shoplifter at a Walgreens in Nashville was shot by a staffer following a confrontation over stolen merchandise that resulted in an exchange of Mace and bullets. The wounded mother-to-be was rushed to the hospital, where doctors performed an emergency C-section, saving the baby and 24-year-old mother’s life.

The Walgreens worker was later charged by the Davidson County District Attorneys Office with aggravated assault, but a grand jury declined to indict him earlier this week. The new mother, meanwhile, was indicted for theft and assault.  

Representatives for Home Depot and Walgreens didn’t immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

Stories of seemingly consequence-free shoplifting are everywhere: There’s an epidemic of drugstore thefts in New York, and a landmark grocery store in Baltimore shut its doors after nearly 25 years after a community desperate for fresh food resorted to simply stealing it.

Experts have blamed the surge on lax policies — including the passage of Prop 47 in California, which reduced theft from a potential felony to a misdemeanor — as well as calls to defund the police in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, which resulted in a mass exodus of cops nationwide.

In New York City, dubbed a “shoplifter’s paradise” by some fed-up local politicians, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has faced blowback over his not requesting bail for some repeat shoplifting suspects. Bragg also has refused to bust thieves unless they pilfer items exceeding $1,000 in value, which is when theft becomes a felony.

A furor erupted in July after CVS worker Scotty Enoe, 46, fatally knifed Charles Brito after the 50-year-old serial thief punched him. Can Alvin Bragg maybe help with that?” fumed City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island). “He just chooses not to prosecute and we end up with vigilante justice.”

With no nationwide policy on how to deal with shoplifting, many employers have encouraged staffers to do nothing at all in an effort to keep them out of harm’s way.

Lululemon became notorious for its hands-off policy after the athletic gear company axed two employees who called the police while three masked men robbed a Georgia outpost.

The company cited its zero-tolerance policy for intervening in a robbery as a reason for firing the workers, whom Lululemon refers to as “educators.”

A Walmart in Atlanta, meanwhile, will be installing a police workspace inside the store when it opens in May. The grocery store and pharmacy previously closed after it was set on fire by suspected arsonists.

The shoplifting epidemic cost retailers nearly $100 billion in 2021, and the number of shoplifting complaints surged to more than 63,000 last year — a 45% jump over the roughly 45,000 reported in 2021 and a nearly 275% jump compared to the mid-2000s, police statistics show.

Now, Bragg in New York is reportedly working to snuff out shoplifting by going after repeat offenders. Part of his plan includes focused deterrence, meaning pre-trial detention will be requested for accused thieves who have prior felony convictions, multiple open cases and a history of skipping out on court dates.

New York also has implemented an initiative dubbed the Merchants Business Improvement Program, which allows business owners to get restraining orders against suspects who repeatedly come into their stores and steal or harass workers, officials said last month.

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Politics

Millionaire former Tory donor defects to Reform

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49 mins ago

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December 6, 2025

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Millionaire former Tory donor defects to Reform

Millionaire Tory donor Malcolm Offord has defected to Reform UK, saying he would be campaigning “tirelessly” to “remove this rotten SNP government”.

Nigel Farage announced the former Conservative life peer’s defection during a rally in the Scottish town of Falkirk, where regular anti-immigration protests have taken place outside the Cladhan Hotel – which is being used to house asylum seekers.

Mr Farage, Reform UK’s leader, said he was “delighted” to welcome Greenock-born Lord Offord to Reform, describing his defection as “a brave and historic act”.

He added: “He will take Reform UK Scotland to a new level.”

During a speech, Lord Offord, who previously donated nearly £150,000 to the Tories, said he would be quitting the Conservative Party and giving up his place in the House of Lords as he prepares to campaign for a seat in Holyrood in May.

The 61-year-old said he wanted to restore Scotland to a “prosperous, happy, healthy country”.

“Scotland needs Reform and Reform is coming to Scotland,” he told the rally.

Read more:
Nigel Farage dismisses school racism claims as ‘banter in a playground’
Farage allegations are deeply shocking – but will they deter voters?

“Today I can announce that I am resigning from the Conservative Party. Today I am joining Reform UK and today I announce my intention to stand for Reform in the Holyrood election in May next year.

“And that means that from today, for the next five months, day and night, I shall be campaigning with all of you tirelessly for two objectives.

“The first objective is to remove this rotten SNP government after 18 years, and the second is to present a positive vision for Scotland inside the UK, to restore Scotland to being a prosperous, proud, healthy and happy country.”

The latest defection comes as Mr Farage finds himself at the centre of allegations of racism dating back to his time in school.

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Claims made against Nigel Farage

Sky News reported on Saturday that a former schoolfriend of Mr Farage claimed he sang antisemitic songs to Jewish schoolmates – and had a “big issue with anyone called Patel”.

Jean-Pierre Lihou, 61, was initially friends with the Reform UK leader when he arrived at Dulwich College in the 1970s, at the time when Mr Farage is accused of saying antisemitic and other racist remarks by more than a dozen pupils.

Mr Farage has said he “never directly racially abused anybody” at Dulwich and said there is a “strong political element” to the allegations coming out 49 years later.

Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice has called the ex-classmates “liars”.

A Reform UK spokesman accused Sky News of “scraping the barrel” and being “desperate to stop us winning the next election”.

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World

Paramilitary drone attack in southern Sudan kills at least 50 people, including 33 children

Published

49 mins ago

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December 6, 2025

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Paramilitary drone attack in southern Sudan kills at least 50 people, including 33 children

At least 50 people, including 33 children, have been killed in southern Sudan after a drone attack by paramilitary forces hit a nursery in South Kordofan state.

Sudan Doctors’ Network says paramedics on the scene in the town of Kalogi were also targeted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a “second unexpected attack”.

Rights group Emergency Lawyers reported a “third civilian site” near the previous two attacks was also targeted.

The death toll is expected to be higher, but communication blackouts have made it difficult to confirm the full number of casualties.

Emergency Lawyers says the strikes are a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians, especially children, and vital civilian infrastructure.”

UNICEF has urged both parties to stop the attacks immediately and allow safe access for humanitarian aid.

“Killing children in their school is a horrific violation of children’s rights,” said UNICEF representative for Sudan Sheldon Yett.

“Children should never pay the price of conflict.”

Read more from Sky News
RSF says it has captured Babanusa in West Kordofan
Sudan ‘epicentre of suffering in the world’
Sudan’s paramilitary forces agree to US-led humanitarian ceasefire proposal

The attack on the nursery is among the latest in the two-year conflict between the RSF and Sudan’s military, where the focus has recently shifted to the oil-rich Kordofan states.

A photo released by UNICEF shows displaced children and families from al-Fashir. (Mohammed Jammal/UNICEF via AP)
Image:
A photo released by UNICEF shows displaced children and families from al-Fashir. (Mohammed Jammal/UNICEF via AP)

Hundreds of civilians have been killed in the last few weeks as fighting shifted from Darfur, following the RSF’s violent takeover of the city of Al Fashir, which was marked with civilians being executed, rapes, sexual assaults and other atrocities.

Thousands managed to escape the violence, but thousands more are trapped or feared killed.

Grab from RSF social media channels in Al Fashir, Sudan
Image:
Grab from RSF social media channels in Al Fashir, Sudan

Meanwhile, Sudanese military aerial strikes last weekend killed at least 48 people, mostly civilians, in South Kordofan.

The RSF has also accused the military of carrying out a drone strike on the border with Chad, posting a video showing billowing black smoke.

The Associated Press has been unable to verify the video or whether there were any casualties, while Sudan’s military also hasn’t commented.

The RSF and the Sudanese military have been fighting for power over the country since 2023, which has seen more than 40,000 people killed, according to the World Health Organisation, although the real death toll is expected to be higher. 12 million people have been displaced.

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UK

England and Scotland fans discover where their opening World Cup games will be played

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49 mins ago

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December 6, 2025

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England and Scotland fans discover where their opening World Cup games will be played

England and Scotland fans have found out where their World Cup group games will be played when the tournament kicks off in June.

England, who are in Group L, will begin their tournament against Croatia in Dallas at 4pm EST (9pm BST) on 17 June. They will then go on to face Ghana in Boston at 4pm EST (9pm BST) on 23 June and Panama in New Jersey, New York, at 5pm EST (10pm BST) on 27 June.

Scotland are in Group C, and their first match will be against Haiti in Boston at 9pm EST on 13 June (2am GMT the following morning).

They will go up against Morocco also in Boston at 6pm EST (11pm GMT) on 19 June and then Brazil in Miami at 6pm EST (11pm GMT) on 24 June.

Fans are expected to rush to sort their travel and accommodation plans now that they know where and when the matches take place.

Read more: Unapologetically political – a World Cup draw like no other

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England and Scotland learn World Cup fate

Wales and Northern Ireland have yet to find out if they will qualify.

Wales must face a play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Cardiff, then either Italy or Northern Ireland, if they are victorious.

If they beat these play-off opponents, they will secure their place in Group B alongside Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.

However, Northern Ireland will also be vying to guarantee their spot in the same group if they can beat Italy and then either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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