A stabbing occurred Monday inside the Philadelphia Macy’s store on Market Street, leaving one security guard dead and another hurt.
According to Interim Police Commissioner John Stanford, the incident happened after a shoplifting attempt, Fox 29 reported.
“Investigators believe the suspect was caught by security guards stealing hats and handed over the stolen merchandise after a brief confrontation,” the outlet said, adding the suspect came back to the store minutes later and allegedly stabbed the two security guards with a knife.
“Authorities say a 30-year-old security guard died at Jefferson Hospital from a stab wound to the neck. The second victim, a 23-year-old, was treated for stab wounds to the face and arm,” the Fox report stated.
According to law enforcement, the suspect ran from the building but was eventually taken into custody at the Somerset Station.
One man walking outside the store following the incident told Fox 29, “I wish that, you know, in the City of Brotherly Love that we would actually stop and maybe love our brothers”:
Stanford noted that so far, in 2023, there have been more than 250 retail theft incidents at the store.
Video footage shows officers with the suspect after he was taken into custody, per an ABC 6 clip. He was identified as 30-year-old Tyrone Tunnell:
According to ABC 6, the suspect has been arrested more than a dozen times for retail theft, robbery, and drug offenses.
Stanford said the issue has been an ongoing problem for businesses throughout the city.
“It’s not any less important as far as our chain of things to address as far as safety for this city because you can see it’s vey [sic] important in the fact that what starts out as a retail theft has ended in a homicide,” he stated.
One citizen recalled the stabbing incident and how people at the scene reacted.
“They were shopping, and on the loudspeakers, they just said, ‘It’s an emergency, and everyone needs to evacuate.’ Then everyone got like pushed out,” she said:
A Macy’s spokesperson told Fox Business the store will remain shut down while the investigation continues. The outlet also noted that the Macy’s security guards were not armed.
