Title: Teenage Girls Assault Walgreens Employee Caught on Camera in Missouri
Subtitle: Incident fuels concerns over rising organized shoplifting and crime rates
Date: August 11, 2023 | Updated: August 11, 2023, 22:33
By Germania Rodriguez Poleo For Dailymail.Com
Missouri police are on the hunt for two teenage girls after a disturbing incident of assault was caught on camera at a Walgreens store in Independence. The victim, an employee in her 60s, had attempted to intervene in a shoplifting incident when she was brutally attacked.
The shocking assault occurred on August 2 in the city of Independence, located approximately 10 miles east of Kansas City. The Independence Police Department released a statement confirming that an employee was assaulted while trying to prevent a shoplifting incident.
Captured by a witness from a car, the video footage shows a teenage girl, dressed in a white shirt and carrying a red purse, forcefully throwing the employee to the ground outside the store. The assailant is then seen repeatedly striking the employee, who remained on the ground. Another teen girl can be heard yelling in the background during the attack.
According to the police, the two teenage suspects, accompanied by a third teen and an adult, had initially entered the store. One of the teens was wearing sunglasses upon entering, but when they left, one of the other teens was observed wearing the sunglasses. The employee asked the adult accompanying them to pay for the item, but she refused.
The two teenage suspects subsequently returned to the store, with one of them grabbing a Sprite and spraying it in the employee’s face. The employee blocked the spray, resulting in the assault. Fortunately, the employee has since recovered and intends to press charges.
In an effort to identify the suspects, the police have released images of the two teenage girls and sought the public’s help. The investigation is still ongoing, and anyone with information about the incident has been urged to contact the authorities.
The assault at Walgreens comes in the wake of concerns surrounding organized shoplifting and rising crime rates. Walgreens had previously closed five stores in San Francisco, citing organized shoplifting as a major reason. The National Retail Federation has estimated that shoplifting cost the industry nearly $100 billion in 2022, particularly exacerbated by the challenges posed by the pandemic.
Videos of brazen shoplifting incidents have gone viral online, highlighting the frustration of residents and the impact on businesses. These incidents include masked crooks wheeling shopping carts loaded with valuable products out of a Home Depot store in New York and thieves filling duffel bags and backpacks with perfumes and colognes from a Ross store in Colorado.
The rise in shoplifting and other crimes has become a focal point of political debates, particularly in urban areas such as San Francisco. Walgreens’ CFO, James Kehoe, recently indicated that the company may have overstated the effects of organized shoplifting and spent excessive amounts on security measures.
As law enforcement continues to investigate the assault, concerns about rising crime rates and the need for effective measures to combat organized shoplifting persist.