The petty theft attempt occurred sometime around 4 p.m. in the 70 block of Aquarium Way. Early reports described the incident as a person with a gun inside the store, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
By the time police arrived at the scene at around 4:03 p.m., the suspects had fled the scene and officers concluded that they did not have any weapons.
Instead, the weapon in question belonged to an off-duty sheriff who witnessed the suspects attempting to steal from the store, authorities said.
According to a security guard who requested anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to the media, the sheriff saw the suspects stealing Nike items and flashed his badge at them. The deputy also pulled out a gun, according to police and the guard.
That’s when the suspects dropped the bags with an estimated $5,000 to $6,000 worth of Nike products and fled the scene prior to police arriving, the guard said.
No arrests were made, the LBPD said. The store closed for roughly an hour and a half following the incident.
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