KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Upper Merion police are asking for the public’s help as they try to identify the thief who sprayed a store employee at the King of Prussia Mall with what authorities said may have been bear repellent.
It happened around 4 p.m. on Aug. 14 at the Diesel store in the King of Prussia Mall. Upper Merion Police Chief Blaine Leis said an employee tried to stop a masked young female, believed to be between the ages of 16 and 20 years old, who was stealing several purses. That person sprayed the employee with bear spray or mace.
“The store employee got their wits about them and then continued to chase the actor out into the mall area, trying to get out of the mall exit points, and was sprayed a second time,” he explained.
Leis credited the employee for their bravery, but said the aggressive and violent retail theft attempts have become more common.
“It's a strain on the Public Safety Division in Upper Marion. So these types of crimes aren't just victimless crimes, because it's an object. This is an absolute issue in our town,” he said.
“You want to be careful when you're trying to interfere with somebody who doesn't have any respect for human life or themselves, let alone anybody else.”
The masked thief ran to a waiting car and got away. The car had been reported stolen from Horsham a few days before the robberies.
It was spotted later in the night at Providence Town Center in Upper Providence, in another theft attempt. Police arrested two teenaged boys but said they didn’t think either of them sprayed the store employee.