FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth police are looking for the person who stole money from a Girl Scout cookie stand in front of a Walmart on the city's far west side.
The grocer shared surveillance video of the Feb. 11 incident with police, who Monday published the footage in a social media post. A different store camera also captured a clear image of the suspect's face.
Investigators believe the man waited inside the store for an opportunity to snatch a box containing the Girl Scouts' earnings, totaling $456. Around 2 p.m., surveillance video shows the suspect reach behind the sales table, grab a bag containing the cash, and run into the store's parking lot.
"It makes it that much worse when you know it's a little girl that's a victim of this," Fort Worth police spokesperson Brad Perez told WFAA Monday. "Everybody has a heart and they don't want to see anyone be a victim of a crime, much less a child."
A police report indicates Girl Scouts from Troop 2716 were selling cookies outside the Walmart Supercenter at 9500 Clifford Street that Sunday to raise money for a planned summer trip to Australia.
A spokesperson for the local council overseeing the troop said Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains will "ensure the troop is not financially impacted by this loss."
"We are proud of the Girl Scouts at the booth for handling this situation safely and appropriately," the statement continued.
The council said the best way to help the scouts involved in the incident is to purchase cookies. You can find a booth near you here.
Anyone with information about the suspect should call Fort Worth Police Detective C. Magallon at 817-392-4837.
"Someone knows who the suspect is," Perez said. "Someone like that just needs to be taught a lesson: You can't commit these kinds of crimes against anyone, especially not a child."