A woman allegedly attacked a J.C. Penney store employee with pepper spray after stealing multiple items of clothing, according to recently released surveillance video.
The video of the December 20 incident in the Greenwood Park Mall in Greenwood, Indiana, shows the woman running away with several items of clothing after a store employee confronted the alleged thief for shoplifting.
The suspect, in turn, pepper-sprayed the employee to make a quick getaway with the items, according to a police report.
A J.C. Penney employee told police that she witnessed several suspects coming out of the elevator and stuffing clothes into a black bag. When one of them headed for the exit, the alarm went off.
“As the loss prevention officer approached the first two who had concealed the merchandise, the third one came up and sprayed her in the face with some kind of chemical mace,” Matt Fillenwarth, assistant chief of police for Greenwood Police, told WISH.
The suspects dropped more than $1,000 worth of clothing in their struggle to get away but managed to run off with two pairs of designer jeans.
Neither the store employee nor the loss prevention officer were injured in the incident.
Investigators are still searching for the unidentified suspects, who remain at-large. Other instances of shoplifting and spraying employees with pepper spray have taken place recently.
In Texas, a woman was arrested after allegedly shoplifting from Target, spraying two employees with mace, and assaulting one of the employees. She was charged with robbery and assault and is being held on $20,000 bond.
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