A homeless man walked off with shoes at a clothing store in Oregon and was chased by several employees. As he ran across the store’s parking lot, the manager and staff on duty were hot on his tail, but luckily a bystander was nearby to step in before things could get worse.
Posted on TikTok by user Testsubject2727 (goes by Wolfpack), and the one involved, a series of videos were uploaded detailing the incident and aftermath. Wolfpack shows footage of a homeless man running in a parking lot, with several employees from a nearby clothing store following closely behind. It was spurred on by the homeless man taking off with a $10 pair of used shoes, according to Wolfpack.
What ultimately stopped the employees, one of whom was also a manager of said clothing store, was Wolfpack stepping in. They recorded the employees, who noticed what they were doing, stopped to laugh, gesture at Wolfpack, and recorded them with their phone, too.
On Wolfpack’s TikTok video, they alleged that they “stopped” the manager and staff from “attacking an elderly homeless man running for his life.” They then ask, “For a $10 pair of used shoes you attack the most vulnerable?”
Wolfpack did reach out to the clothing store in an email, which they shared on TikTok. The company thanked Wolfpack, stating, “As you may know, each store is independently owned and operated.” They claim they “do not make decisions on behalf of individual store owners.” Then, they tell the TikToker to reach out to the store directly.
After reaching out to the store directly, the response was that the homeless man running eventually dropped the shoes. In their video, they show the employees letting him go as they stop chasing him. But according to Wolfpack , the employee was “still chasing him after he dropped the shoes until I stopped him. If I didn’t stop him, he would have done something.” They beg the company and its employees to “do better.”
People online side with the homeless man
Despite allegations that the man had stolen from the store, many social media users sided with him and criticized the employees’ actions.
“No cause I hate how mean people are to homeless people,” one TikTok user wrote. What made it particular nasty was how the employees look like they’re having a good time, smiling and chuckling.
Another commenter spoke on the store’s apparent bad pricing, despite being a thrift store. “…They will sell clothes for the same price the stuff already costs.” One user claimed the store was“deleting comments on Instagram posts too.”
Among the top comments, with 13,000 Likes and counting, a TikTok user encapsulated the response in the comments. “I feel like nobody should be denied water, food, and a spare change of clothes when they really need it.” They added “We could be in that position one day. Let’s be kinder.”
In addition to people supporting the homeless man online, many weren’t afraid to share their opinion on the store itself. It certainly isn’t a good look when employees are chasing people down for petty theft.
