Police wait outside a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Nov. 23, 2022, where seven people died the night before in a mass shooting. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
A New Jersey man who was wanted on several outstanding warrants reportedly set a pile of clothes on fire inside a Walmart Sunday morning, in an effort to distract workers so he could steal a TV.
Leroy Rabb Jr., 41, entered the location at the Bayonne Crossing shopping center before throwing the clothing on the ground and lighting it ablaze, according to surveillance footage obtained by NJ.com.
The Jersey City-native then made his way over to the store’s electronics section where he grabbed a television and fled the store without paying for it.
Authorities who responded to the Walmart for a report of a fire arrived to find hundreds of customers and employees fleeing the store, per Bayonne Capt. Eric Amato.
Employees were eventually able to extinguish the fire, the outlet reports.
Capt. Amato said that upwards of 650 people – including 50 infants and young children – were inside the store at the time of the blaze.
Thankfully, no injuries or and extensive damages were reported as a result of the fire.
Rabb was quickly located in the parking lot after officers received a description of the suspect. He was found hiding behind a parked car, and was arrested after police were able to positively identify him.
He had two outstanding warrants at the time of Sunday’s arrest, one from nearby Jersey City and another from the Hudson County Superior Court, according to NJ.com.
Rabb was charged with aggravated arson, endangering the welfare of children, shoplifting, and causing widespread injury or damage.
There were not mugshots or images of Rabb available as of this article’s publication.
