Would-be shoplifter gets locked inside store: video

A would-be shoplifter attempting to steal some booze Tuesday was stopped by a quick-thinking staffer who locked him inside an Australian liquor store, according to a video of the failed heist.

The man walked towards the cash register inside The Bottle-O Beechboro carrying a 10-pack of Wild Turkey 101 but quickly darted to the door in an attempt to snag the whiskey without paying, the surveillance footage shows.

However, the door didn’t open. The cashier apparently pressed a button on a remote that locked the exit, according to the video.

The attempted thief paced back and forth to try to activate the door’s motion sensor and then attempted to slide it open by hand before giving up a few seconds later, the footage shows.

The staffer, Kellie Gordon, told him to put down the alcohol or wait for the police to arrive, according to 10 News First -Perth.

With his head down, the man walked back to the register and placed the box onto the counter.

Gordon grabbed the box and hit the remote to let the man out, according to the video.

She told the local station that she wasn’t afraid because the failed thief didn’t appear to be aggressive.

More than anything, he seemed defeated, she said chuckling.

The store installed the locking mechanism last year as shop-lifting increased with the cost-of-living increase. It has saved the store thousands of dollars in would-be stolen products.

“We just want everyone to know that we’re not going to stand for it,” Gordon told 10 News First.

Police are investigating Tuesday’s attempted shoplifting incident.