Shoplifter set fires inside SC Walmart to distract employees, police say
A shoplifter started a fire in a South Carolina Walmart to distract employees while he pushed a shopping cart full of merchandise out the door, according to authorities.
Two fires were set inside the Walmart in Travelers Rest around 4:45a.m. Wednesday, Travelers Rest Police Chief Ben Ford told WSPA. The man set the fire using rugs and clothes.
Police said the man was shoplifting televisions and started the fire to distract store employees, according to FOX Carolina. Firefighters and store employees put out the fire, which damaged some merchandise.
No injuries were reported.
The man pushed the cart of stolen electronics, including televisions and a sound bar, out the door and put the items in a red car before driving away, police said, according to WYFF. Surveillance cameras captured video and still images of the suspect and incident, and will be released later Wednesday, Ford told WYFF.
This is the third arson of a Walmart store in South Carolina since December. A man set fire to a clothing rack inside a Greenwood Walmart on Dec. 5 and then stood by as first responders arrived to put out the fire. Police arrested a suspect days later, the Index-Journal reported.
Last month, a fire set in the Walmart on Harbison Boulevard in Columbia caused millions of dollars in damage. Columbia police charged two men with arson in that case.
This story was originally published May 8, 2019 at 12:11 PM.