PORTAGE, Mich. — Portage Police are investigating potential looting at a tornado-damaged strip mall.
FOX 17 may have been a witness to a potential crime. Around 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, we were in the middle of an interview when two people came out of the back of TreeHousse Vape Shop at West Centre Avenue and Oakland Drive carrying boxes.
Moments after we pointed the camera at them, they quickly ran down the hill.
This is not an isolated incident. Over the course of several more hours we witnessed several more people enter the building and leave with bags full of items. The strip mall is entirely open in the back due to damage from Tuesday's tornadoes.
We spoke with a few individuals who left the vape shop with the boxes.
One claimed their boss told them to come to the vape shop and collect some of the stock.
The owner of the store told me that isn't true. During our conversation he was visibly upset and frustrated.
As the evening progressed, we saw police took one person into custody and later drove away from the scene.
We overheard one officer explain that the reason was that someone was allegedly looting.
Portage Police chief Nicholas Arnold says they initially got a call around 1:00 p.m. of someone allegedly looting at the same location. It's not clear how many people were taken into custody or how many times officers responded to the strip mall for looting complaints.
If you have any information, you're asked to call Portage Police at (269) 329-4567.
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