Bystanders say alleged burglars escaped Perfumania store in Nashville before police arrived
Shoppers outside Tennessee store trap alleged burglars inside
Shoppers in Tennessee worked together to trap a group of alleged burglars inside a store, June 1. (Credit: Angie Campbell / @ptodropout via Storyful)
A group of bystanders outside a store in Tennessee tried to trap a group of alleged burglars inside until police could arrive, according to social media video of the incident.
Shoppers at Tanger Outlets in Nashville’s Antioch neighborhood recorded video of four alleged burglars wearing hoodies and medical face masks stuck inside a Perfumania store. The shoppers were outside the store and held the front door closed, trapping the suspects inside.
Video shows the alleged burglars trying to smash the back door open with a stepladder in a bid to escape. When they are unable to break down the door, the video shows them beginning to break open the wall next to the backdoor with the stepladder.
The video ends abruptly as the suspects remain in the store.
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The bystanders reportedly said it took police 30 minutes to get to the scene. By that time, they said the suspects had already escaped out the back of the store. (Angie Campbell / @ptodropout via Storyful)
The group of bystanders told WSMV-TV that they held the front door shut until Metro Nashville Police arrived 30 minutes later. Witnesses told the outlet that the suspects had already escaped out the back of the store by the time officers arrived.
At least four individuals wearing medical face masks and hoodies were seen trapped inside the store. (Angie Campbell / @ptodropout via Storyful)
One witness described to the station how the alleged burglary unfolded before workers and shoppers ran out of the store.
The alleged burglars were seen using a stepladder to try to smash open the back door of the store to escape. (Angie Campbell / @ptodropout via Storyful)
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"[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," a witness named Preston told WSMV-TV of the alleged burglars.
The bystanders held the front door shut until police could arrive. (Angie Campbell / @ptodropout via Storyful)
Preston said that security at the mall told him that the suspects jumped a fence after breaking out the back of the store and ran to Interstate 24.
"The other people seemed really upset about it because they live in the area," Preston told WSMV. They’re just upset that it happens so often."
