CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Boutique owner defends store from would-be shoplifter

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A wild shoplifting attempt in Baton Rouge was caught on cell phone video.

The owner of a boutique fought back when she said someone tried to steal hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from her store.

“I worked hard to like get here and she can’t just like take that,” said Abby Bullock, owner of ‘Wanderlust by Abby’ on Perkins Road. “It’s not right.”

This was not the first time the store almost got robbed.

But this time, the owner’s best friend caught the whole ordeal on video.

“I was a little scared but I was just like, ‘Give me my stuff,’” added Bullock.

‘Wanderlust by Abby’ has a big selection of women’s clothes and accessories. The owner said the would-be shoplifter mistook the ‘Half Off’ signs, thinking things were free.

“I attempted to get the bag from her and she kind of went crazy on me. And it was a hustle all the way out the door. But I got every single thing back. It was $850 worth of stuff,” explained Bullock.

Bullock knows theft happens all the time. But she said even a few dollars is a big deal to small businesses like hers.

“This store is like a part of me. So, I just felt like she was taking something that was mine,” said Bullock.

The video has gone viral.

It’s been viewed more than 360,000 times from the Facebook page, ‘Just Baton Rouge.’

“It made me feel good that people didn’t think I was crazy. And they were proud of me for taking up for my business,” noted Bullock.

The owner realizes approaching the criminal probably wasn’t the smartest thing she’s done but she has no regrets.

“I always go with my gut with anything in life. And I went with my gut in that situation and it turned out okay. But yeah, I think I would definitely do the same thing,” said Bullock.

The owner said she will now be investing in security cameras and other measures to prevent this from happening again.

The Baton Rouge Police Department is investigating the incident.

If you recognize the person in the video, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 225-344-7867.

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