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A Tennessee couple who tried to trap a thief inside their store spoke about the incident, what motivated them to take action and how crime overall in and around Nashville is affecting the community.
Cody and Angela Campbell were shopping at the Tanger Outlets in Nashville's Antioch neighborhood over the weekend when four suspected robbers wearing hooded jackets and medical masks began storming into the Perfumania store.
Angela captured on video the incident as passersby, including Cody, closed the store's doors and trapped the suspect inside.
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Angela told Carly Shimkus on Thursday that her son had been shopping at the store and had left with a store clerk when the robbers arrived.
“Another employee went to the back door and locked it, and they came running out and were like, 'We're being robbed. We're being robbed,'” she recalled.
She said the couple had been at another shop next door when their son alerted them to what was happening.
“So I immediately thought, 'Okay, I've got to record this.' I don't remember what we did. And, yes, we just locked them in and waited for the cops to come.”
That's when Cody jumped into action to help his son and other shoppers try to catch the thief before he got away.
“Something started to move, so I walked over there and started helping him hold the door,” Cody said. “I think that's what anyone would do if they saw someone screaming for help.”
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The video shows the suspected burglars trying to break down the back door with a ladder in an attempt to escape. When they were unable to break down the door, they began using the ladder to break down the wall next to the back door.
The suspect fled before police arrived, and people at the scene told WSMV-TV they held the front door shut for 30 minutes before officers arrived. The man is reportedly still being searched for.
The suspected robber was seen using a ladder to break down the back door of the store and attempt to escape. (Angie Campbell / @ptodropout via Storyful)
“I think it was maybe three people who called the police, but we just kept waiting,” Angela said.
“It took 30 minutes, during which the shoplifter managed to break through the drywall at the back and escape.”
Ms Cody said such crime would “discourage” her from shopping in the area and that she would choose to shop elsewhere if crime continued to be a problem.
“It's a really beautiful place. There's a lot to do, but if something like that were to happen, I wouldn't want to go back there.”
Fox News' Steven Sorellese contributed to this report.
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