A woman stormed into a shop and allegedly tried to steal cash from the till before a violent struggle with the owner left her topless.
Hours later, she reportedly returned to the same store demanding the CCTV footage be deleted, sparking a second confrontation before being held by neighbours until police arrived.
The incident unfolded at a shop in San Justo, Argentina, at 7:47am on Wednesday (24 June).
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According to CCTV images and the shop owner’s account, the woman took advantage of a moment when the proprietor was not in the main shop area.
She leaned over the counter, opened the cash register and began taking banknotes.
When the owner returned, she caught her in the act and immediately confronted her, with the pair then grappling as she tried to stop the theft.
During the struggle, the owner grabbed the woman by the hood of her hoodie, as reported by Need To Know.
As the suspect fought to break free, her clothing became dislodged and she was left with her top half exposed.
As she fled the store, the shop owner shouted: “You criminal! You disgrace!”
Speaking to local media, the owner said that after the first incident she chased the woman for several blocks but was unable to catch her, before calling police and being told a patrol would arrive “in a while”.
In that time, the same woman allegedly returned to the shop and demanded the CCTV recordings be deleted.
A second confrontation is said to have broken out, which ended with one of the shop’s windows being smashed.
Neighbours who witnessed the scene stepped in and held the woman until police arrived.
The owner said she felt “a lot of anger and a lot of helplessness”, adding that it was “not the first time it has happened”.
She also said the shop is fitted with a grille, alarm and CCTV cameras, but insisted “that doesn’t stop them”.
The owner added she received a wave of messages from people offering support following what happened, and described both incidents as “horrible”.
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