Thieves are still hitting freight trains across Southern California, and some of the latest break-ins have ended in gunfire or flames, authorities and railroad officials said.
Early Thursday, six people tried to steal Nike shoes and apparel from a Union Pacific train near Whittier, the California Highway Patrol said. Union Pacific security called for help around 2:21 a.m. near 3777 Workman Mill Road, just east of the 605 Freeway. The suspects were gone by the time officers got there. Investigators later found a pile of boxes, including Nike shoe boxes, dumped beneath a nearby freeway overpass. It was not clear how much cargo was taken or what it was worth.
A week earlier, on Sept. 17, robbers forced a BNSF train bound from Los Angeles to Chicago to stop in Riverside and set fire to a container while trying to break into it, according to BNSF and the Riverside Fire Department. The fire was reported about 4:40 a.m. near Chicago Street. Crews found the top box of a double-stack container burning, with the train stretching from Colton to Home Gardens. No one was hurt. BNSF police are investigating.
On Sept. 4, a crew of 15 to 20 vehicles, including white box trucks, broke into containers on a BNSF train near Amboy, in San Bernardino County's Morongo Basin. The thieves took roughly $50,000 in Ariat boots and DeWalt power tools. An off-duty sheriff's deputy later noticed a matching white box truck on Twentynine Palms Highway near Yucca Valley. Deputies arrested Eddiel Burgos, 30, and Pastor Pena Lerma, 43, on suspicion of commercial burglary and grand theft of cargo worth more than $950.
In August, suspects shot at BNSF police officers during a suspected burglary in the Cajon Pass near Devore. Angel Castro, 21, was arrested and faces charges of attempted murder, cargo theft and conspiracy. Four other men, identified as Mexican nationals, were arrested on related charges, including possession of burglary tools.
The thefts follow a familiar pattern, particularly in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, where trains often slow on mountain grades or sit in remote stretches. Thieves go after goods that are easy to resell, such as sneakers, boots, tools and electronics. Some groups arrive in several vehicles, cut into containers or force trains to halt.
Investigators in northern Arizona have described similar break-ins along BNSF's Transcon corridor, sometimes several times a month.
Major U.S. railroads reported more than 75,000 cargo theft incidents in 2025, with losses topping $200 million, according to the Association of American Railroads. That was an increase of more than 50% from the year before. Industry analysts and law enforcement have tied some of the Southern California thefts to organized networks, including groups with connections to Mexico.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's Rural Crime Task Force, BNSF and Union Pacific police, the CHP and federal partners have stepped up patrols, surveillance and joint operations. Officials have made several arrests and recovered stolen goods in recent months, but they acknowledge the thefts have not stopped.
BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent said the railroad remains focused on preventing robberies and protecting customers' freight from start to finish. Authorities are asking the public to report suspicious activity near rail lines.
