Missouri police are on the hunt for two teenage girls after one of them was caught on camera brutally assaulting a Walgreens employee who was trying to stop her from shoplifting.
The horrifying incident happened on August 2 in the town of Independence, about 10 miles east of Kansas City.
“A company employee was attacked while attempting to intervene in a shoplifting operation,” the Independence Police Department said in a statement.
Footage, taken by a witness in a car, shows a girl in a white shirt and red purse throwing the clerk to the ground outside the store.
The girl is seen beating the employee, who is reportedly in her 60s, while she is lying on the ground.
A young girl is seen attacking a Walgreens employee outside a store in Independence, Missouri
Police released pictures of the suspects and asked the public for help in identifying them
As the attack unfolds, another teenage girl can be seen screaming in the background.
Police said the two teenagers were in the store with a third teenager and an adult before the attack.
When the group entered the store, only one of the teenagers was wearing sunglasses.
However, when they went out, police said one of the youths without sunglasses was wearing sunglasses.
The clerk reportedly asked the adult woman who was with the teenagers to pay for the item, but she refused.
The two teenage suspects then returned to the store, one of them grabbed a Sprite and sprayed it in the clerk’s face.
The clerk told police the teenagers attacked her after she blocked the sprite.
According to Fox4 KC, the employee has since recovered and plans to file a complaint.
Police released pictures of the suspects and asked the public for help in identifying them.
One of the women appears to be the suspect seen attacking the clerk. The other appears to be the teenager screaming in the background.
Police spokesman Jack Taylor told Fox4 KC he was “shocked” by the incident.
The department is still investigating the incident.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Winborn at 816-325-7330 or call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
This comes after Walgreens CFO told investors in an earnings announcement earlier this year that executives may have overstated the impact of organized shoplifting.
As the attack unfolds, another teenage girl can be seen screaming in the background
The girl is seen beating the employee, who is reportedly in her 60s, while she is lying on the ground
The employee has since recovered and plans to file a complaint
“Maybe we cried too much last year,” said James Kehoe.
Kehoe also said the company “probably” misjudged how many thefts took place at the chain’s stores and may have spent too much money putting security measures in place.
Walgreens closed five San Francisco stores in October 2021 citing organized shoplifting.
Shoplifting is at the center of political debates about crime, particularly in urban areas like San Francisco.
The National Retail Federation said the scourge of shoplifting – which has worsened during the pandemic – has cost the industry nearly $100 billion in 2022.
Recent videos of brazen shoplifters are going viral online as residents grow frustrated with rising crime.
Surveillance footage shows a gang of masked crooks pushing shopping carts laden with valuable products out of a Home Depot store in New York.
Another clip showed shoplifters loading duffel bags and backpacks with perfumes and colognes at a Ross store in Colorado.
A manager at Ross Dress for Less said thieves would target her Colorado store up to four times a day.
Footage taken on location shows several thieves storming through the store, stuffing bags with items before nonchalantly exiting the store.
Branch manager Ashley Finley told CBS News, “It happens a lot.” I’d say an incident like this happens four times a day.