The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. A group of robbers in Tennessee were stopped in the middle of their grand heist. Per New York Post, four genius-level thieves were thwarted trying to steal from a Tanger Outlets store. How were they accosted? Oh, by a group of bystanders... holding the front door closed. While the thieves sadly attempt to leave through the back door.
A group of bystanders outside a store in Tennessee tried to trap a group of alleged burglars inside until police could arrive, according to social media video of the incident. https://t.co/Lg9J1FHJDS pic.twitter.com/fE1ABvebNN
— New York Post (@nypost) June 6, 2024
"[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," a witness told WSMV. Eventually, the vandals escape. Not without considerable effort via stepladder shenanigans, but they get there! According to the witness, the suspects jumped a fence after breaking out the back of the store and ran to Interstate 24.
Tennessee Bystanders Do Their Best To Prevent Thieves Stealing From A Store
So, you wake up and decide, "I'm going to commit a crime today. I'll get some friends, and we're going to steal from this store!" You get your masks, your hoodies, your friends. You're ready to go! You get there, and you're emboldened enough to actually do it. Let's steal some... cologne. Sure, that's something!
Uh-oh, we've been found out! Look, Daryl, a group of people is blocking the front entrance! Quick, awkwardly roam around. That'll throw them off!
I want to preface this next part by saying I'm glad this didn't happen. Remember, I'm merely asking the hard-hitting questions.
Nobody thought to bring a gun? Actually, nobody tried a little harder to break the glass and escape? We didn't have a Plan B or multiple exit routes? Obviously, we thought about it enough to cover our faces and heads. But, this appears to be an activity we didn't fully map out.
Look, I'm no criminal mastermind. Basically, I'm just some dweeb on the internet. I'll give myself a little credit, however. I've played enough Payday and watched enough heist movies where I at least know it's probably ideal to bring something that would scare people off. It doesn't even have to be a gun! A knife! A bat! You can get away with not using it — it's there to intimidate.
There's also four of you. I'm glad, though. Stupid criminals might deter smarter people from committing crimes by being so flagrantly dumb that a life of crime hardly seems worth it anymore.
