SAN ANTONIO – A 20-year-old man was arrested early Friday morning after he was caught attempting to break into a North Side Target store with a blow torch, San Antonio police said.
SAPD officers responded to the attempted break-in around 3:30 a.m. at the Target located at the Park North shopping center near North Star Mall.
An officer at the scene said the suspect was seen on surveillance cameras breaking into the store with the blow torch and authorities were alerted to the crime.
"He was already in the process of blow torching the back door and had approximately an 8-inch gash in the door already," said Sgt. Michael Wilson with SAPD.
The suspect fled as officers arrived and a foot chase ensued. Officers lost sight of the suspect, but said a private citizen who happened to be listening to police scanners saw the suspect and told officers he was headed toward North Star Mall. Officers tracked down the suspect and took him into custody a short time later.
"Along the route, we found tools he was using to break in the location. Some goggles; he left his blowtorch here and other paraphernalia along the way," Sgt. Wilson said.
The suspect's name has not been released. SAPD officials are trying to determine if he might be linked to other cases around San Antonio that involve Target stores.
Police said a Target on Austin Highway was recently burglarized and thousands of dollars in merchandise was stolen. Nothing was stolen from the Target in Friday's incident, police said.