Alleged Wal-Mart thief climbs through ceiling to escape

After being dragged back into a Wal-Mart by a loss prevention officer, an alleged shoplifter avoided arrest by climbing into the store's ceiling, and kicking a hole to escape -- all caught on video.

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The AL reports that Brannan Lynnn, a bystander inside the Wal-Mart in Mobile, AL, captured the entire ordeal on camera.

"It was insane," Lynn told AL. "It was unbelievable the great timing I had."

Lynn told AL that as he and his father walked toward the entrance, they watched the suspect clear one set of automatic doors before a loss prevention officer wrestled him back inside.

According to the Mobile Police Department, the suspect had stolen a debit card, shoes, hat, watch and underwear.

"The crazy thing was the initial excitement," Lynn said. "We thought it was over."

Lynn and his father continued their day, sitting down to eat at the McDonald's inside the store. As they ate, security isolated the suspect in a security office nearby, where he banged loudly on the door. Three officers braced themselves against the door to keep the man inside.

At some point, the banging stopped and they heard a new sound coming from the office.

Then, they heard a loud bang and a piece of the McDonald's ceiling came crashing down, kicked out by the suspect now crawling through the ceiling. Lynn said he made eye contact with the man before he turned to find another way to exit.

Near the automatic sliding glass doors leading to the parking lot outside, the suspect continued to kick and stomp until breaking through the ceiling. He dangled his body through the hole before jumping down, and bolting straight through the entrance, and outside.

Lynn said the man jumped into a red car and got away.

Police spokesperson Officer Terence Perkins told AL that he dropped the stolen items before fleeing the store.