A shopping trip for customers at Tanger Outlets Nashville went wrong after a group of robbers broke into a perfume store.
A TikTok user (@ptodropout) posted a video obtained by WSMV4of four individuals robbing Perfumania at the Antioch outlets on June 2.
One security guard and multiple shoppers held the door shut while the incident was taking place and trapped the thieves inside while they waited for police.
But the robbers were able to escape by smashing their way through a back door before the cops could arrive.
Four thieves attempted to rob Perfumania at the Tanger Outlets Nashville in Antioch on June 2 after attempting to shoplift from the store earlier that week
Preston, the TikToker's son and one of the witnesses, told WSMV4 that he could hear an employee yell, 'Y'all can't be in here' right before the incident began.
'I turned around and saw three or four people walking in with masks and hoodies on,' he told the news outlet.
'I’ve never seen it happen before, so I was a little in shock. I just was doing what I thought I should do,' said Preston.
'[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.'
Witnesses said that they weren't sure if the foursome were armed but that they were between the ages of 16 and 20.
The TikToker, who caught almost all of the events on camera, wrote in the video that it 'took 30 minutes' for the cops to arrive on the scene.
One of the thieves who planned to run out the door immediately turned around and ran back to the register.
The customers who kept the door closed began questioning the police officers' response time, and more than one person said that the cops' arrival was 'taking forever.'
Shoppers held the door shut while waiting for police officers to arrive. The robbers were initially trapped inside but eventually escaped through an emergency door
Preston, who was one of the witnesses, told WSMV4 that he was in shock. His mother recorded the ordeal and posted the video on TikTok after the attempted robbery
One the robbers grabbed a small step ladder and attempted to bust open the emergency exit door.
They managed to open the door, and according to Preston, security guards told him that all four thieves had jumped a fence and ran to Interstate 24.
WSVM4 obtained footage of I-24 from 3:00 pm, which shows three of the suspects sprinting on the side of the road.
They eventually jumped into one of the lanes and stopped a car, which they used as their final and successful act of a getaway.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department told WSMV4 on June 3 that an incident report had not been filed and they were initially called over to the outlets for a fight in progress.
This incident is one of multiple robberies at Tanger Outlets Nashville, which opened in Antioch less than a year ago.
Three of the four thieves were spotted running on the side of the road at I-24 before stopping car and getting away from the scene
Shoplifting incidents have been a frequent occurrence at the Tanger Outlets Nashville since November 2023. The outlet mall first opened in October of last year
Shoplifting incidents at Tanger Outlets Nashville began less than a month after the shopping mall opened on October 27, 2023.
Police told FOX 17 News in November that shoplifters stole thousands of dollars worth of Michael Kors jackets, but they had obtained security footage of the incident.
The outlets released a statement on social media after the weekend robbery on November 16.
'Safety and security programs at the center include measures that are both seen and unseen, and all efforts are supported by local law enforcement,' it read.
'Tanger maintains a zero-tolerance policy, which is also enforced by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.'
Preston also mentioned the concern that came from shoppers he was with during the June 2 attempted Perfumania robbery.
'They [shoppers and store owners] said this happened a lot in their area, like in that mall,' he told WSMV4.
'The other people seemed really upset about it because they live in the area. They’re just upset that it happens so often.
