Criminals have slowly gotten bolder and bolder about their crimes, moving away from the silent heists of the past and opting for grab-and-runs.
Unfortunately, despite their lack of stealth, many times these individuals never get challenged.
Some stores enforce policies where employees are ordered not to stop thieves for their own safety.
But that doesn’t mean every store is going to be an easy target. During a recent instance at a Tennessee outlet mall, shoppers rallied together in an attempt to hold a group of alleged thieves captive until police could arrive.
On June 1 at the Tanger Outlets in Antioch, Tennessee, four suspects entered a Perfumania wearing hoodies and face masks, intending to shoplift, according to The Tennessean.
While inside ransacking the store, bystanders began to stand in front of the door in an attempt to barricade the suspects inside of the establishment while they awaited a police response.
Much of the incident was captured by a TikToker who uses the handle “ptodropout,” who said she had been inside the store shopping with her son when the four arrived.
@ptodropout This really just happened! Tanger outlet, nashville #robbery #caughtoncamera #crazy #cops ♬ original sound – Girl Boss
Would you stop a shoplifter?
Yes: 87% (785 Votes)
No: 13% (121 Votes)
The captured video shows the four young people looking for a way out of the store while continuing to grab merchandise from the shelves.
At one point, one of the suspects rushed at the door in an attempt to force it open, but the defenders held firm.
In the end, police took 30 minutes to arrive at the scene, allowing the four hooligans to escape after forcing open the back door, bashing a hole in the wall in the process.
Smash-and-grabs are nothing new, but the boldness of some criminals is undoubtedly beginning to irk more people.
Americans can’t even go on shopping trips without seeing brazen criminals ruining the peace.
It won’t be surprising if more onlookers begin to take action like the good citizens in Tennessee, especially when peaceful means of resistance such as holding a door closed are available.
Of course, no person should put themselves in harm’s way to stop petty theft, but that doesn’t mean that we should permit such outrageous acts of lawlessness.
Sometimes, Americans need to take matters into their own hands when law enforcement isn’t able to fulfill their duties.
