Witnesses outside a store in Tennessee took action to prevent a group of alleged burglars from escaping until the police arrived, as seen in a social media video of the incident.
Shoppers at Tanger Outlets in Nashville’s Antioch neighborhood captured footage of four suspects, dressed in hoodies and medical face masks, trapped inside a Perfumania store.
The bystanders positioned themselves outside the store, holding the front door shut to keep the suspects inside.
In the video, the alleged burglars are shown attempting to force open the back door with a stepladder in a desperate bid to flee. When their efforts to break down the door fail, they start trying to breach the wall next to the backdoor using the stepladder.
The video concludes with the suspects still stuck inside the store.
According to the group of bystanders interviewed by WSMV-TV, they managed to keep the front door shut until Metro Nashville Police arrived half an hour later.
However, witnesses reported that the suspects had already escaped through the back of the store by the time law enforcement officers reached the scene.
One witness recounted to the news outlet the chaotic scene inside the store as workers and shoppers fled from the alleged burglars.
“[They were] trying to run around the store, break into the cash register, break through the glass, get all the cologne out of the shelves and stuff,” described Preston, a witness, to WSMV-TV.
Preston mentioned that mall security informed him about the suspects fleeing to Interstate 24 after jumping over a fence following their escape from the store.
“The other people seemed really upset about it because they live in the area,” added Preston to WSMV. “They’re just upset that it happens so often.”
