A group of passersby outside the Tennessee store tried to trap the group of robbers inside until police arrived, according to social media video of the incident.
A shopper at the Tanger Outlets in Nashville’s Antioch neighborhood recorded video showing four suspected robbers wearing hoodies and medical face masks holed up inside the Perfumania store.
Shoppers were outside the store and closed the front door, trapping the suspect inside.
The video shows the suspected robber trying to break down the back door with a ladder in an attempt to escape. When he is unable to break down the door, the video shows the suspected robber using the ladder to begin breaking down the wall next to the back door.
The video ends abruptly as the suspect remains inside the store.
A group of bystanders WSMV TV They kept the front door closed until Metro Nashville Police arrived 30 minutes later.
Witnesses told the outlet that by the time officers arrived the suspects had already fled out the rear of the store.
A witness described to police how the robbery unfolded before employees and shoppers fled the store.
“[They were] “They were running around the store, breaking the register, smashing through the glass and trying to steal all the cologne off the shelves,” a witness named Preston told WSMV-TV about the suspects.
Preston said he heard from mall security that the suspects escaped through the rear of the store, then jumped a fence and ran onto Interstate 24.
“Other people seem to be really upset because they live in the area too,” Preston told WSMV. “They’re just upset that it happens so often.”
