Niagara Falls Police responded to Dollar Tree on Portage Road around 10:00am on May 29th after reports of a bizarre attempted break-in to reach the female manager.
Upon arrival, police spoke to the female store manager who stated the entire incident was captured on video. This is what the footage showed:
At 6:50am on May 27th, an unknown male carrying a duffle bag could be observed walking back and forth while he peered into the store for several minutes. He then proceeded to wait outside of the store until the female store manager pulled into the parking lot.
The unknown male watched the store manager exit her vehicle, unlock the store door, enter the store, lock the door behind her, and turn off the alarm. He then waited for her to enter the office, at which time he put his duffle bag down, took a wrench out of it and took the handle off the store door by loosening the bolts.
The store manager then started walking towards the front of the store at which time he walks away from the door. The store manager then walked towards the back of the store and the unknown male went back to the door and used another tool to wedge in between the store doors to pry it open.
As the unknown male was struggling to open the door, the store manager walked from the back of the store to the front again causing him to walk away. Once she returned to the back of the store the male tried to pry the door open again, but he was unsuccessful.
The store manager stated she observed the unknown male standing outside of the store pacing back and forth but did not think anything of it because it is common for people to walk around the parking lot. The manager also stated she did not call police right away because she had to wait to observe the video footage and put in a work order for the door.
It is unknown what the male would have done if he successfully gained entry to the store with only the female manager inside. No further information is available at this time.