Macy's Evacuated When Pepper Spray Gets Into Air-Conditioning

MIAMI, FL — Macy's at Dadeland Mall was evacuated early Saturday evening when a woman allegedly sprayed five ssecurity officers with pepper spray in an attempt to free a man who was being detained on a suspicion of shoplifting.

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The evacuation affected between 350 to 400 shoppers who were in the store at the time of the incident around 4:45 p.m, according to Detective Marjorie Eloi of the Miami-Dade Police Department.

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"According to investigators, a male and female were observed together inside of the Dadeland Mall Macy's, located at 7303 SW 88 Street by loss prevention personnel," Eloi said. "After observing the male subject shoplifting inside of the store, loss prevention staff approached the male and detained him."

Eloi said that the loss prevention team was accompanying the suspect into a first-floor elevator when the woman attacked them.

"The loss prevention team escorted the detained male into the first floor elevator, when a black female dressed in all black with a hat and two ponytails attempted to enter the elevator," Eloi told Patch. "The black female was asked to wait for another elevator when she began spraying pepper spray into the elevator in an attempt the free the detained male. The female then ran out of the store in an unknown direction."

Police said the pepper spray seeped into the store's air-conditioning system causing the evacuation.

None of the other stores in the mall were affected.

"One of the loss prevention security personnel complained of trouble breathing," according to Eloi. "Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel were summoned and transported Mr. Manuel Urize to a nearby hospital."

Police identified the victims as 28-year-old Christian Vizcano of the 7300 block SW 88 Street in Miami, 22-year-old John Katron, 28-year-old Andrew Reed, 34-year-old Thierry Guirand and Urize, who is 20.

Police identified the male suspect detained by security personnel as 24-year-0ld Adarius L. Jones.

The woman who discharged the pepper spray is described as an African-American female, approximately 25 to 30 years of age, 5 feet 9 inches tall and approximately 120 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black sports bra, black legging pants with her hair in dreads and combed into ponytails. She was also wearing a black hat.