Gang of thieves trapped inside Tennessee Perfumania by fed-up shoppers who blocked exit, called cops

When a group of bystanders saw a gang of would-be thieves attempting to make off with merchandise from a perfume shop near Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday, they took matters into their own hands, working together to block the front door. The suspects eventually managed to escape via the back door, however in the process they dropped all their loot and left empty-handed.

The hoodie and mask-clad crew are believed to be between 16 and 20 years old. They fled the scene, and no arrests have been made. Though they did not take anything with them, their actions still caused damage to the shop.

According to WSMV, the incident took place around 3 pm at the Perfumaria at the Tanger Outlet Mall in Antioch, a town about 13 miles southeast of downtown Nashville. When bystanders noticed suspicious activity inside the store, they banded together to hold the front door closed from the outside, rendering the exit unusable.

Footage of the event showed that as the suspects paced around trying to find a way out, those outside the shop questioned why the police were taking so long to respond to their call. "This is taking forever," one woman said. 

One of them rammed the front door, but when that didn't work, they opted instead to grab a step ladder and began trying to break down the back door. The footage ended with the crew using the ladder to make a hole in the wall next to the back door.

According to WSMV, by the time the police arrived on scene 30 minutes later, the suspects had managed to escape. They are believed to have run a quarter mile up to the I-24 before jumping into a car and driving away.

One of the bystanders, identified as Preston, said the suspects 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." He noted that one of the employees had told them, "Y'all can't be in here."