A Salvation Army bell ringer who was collecting holiday donations outside a North Richland Hills Walmart dropped his bell, chased after a fleeing suspected shoplifter and helped subdue him until police arrived.
Michael Garcia said he was helping spread holiday cheer and accepting donations from shoppers Thursday afternoon when he saw store security guards chasing a man at “top speed” across the parking lot.
The guards stopped the man, but he was struggling to get away. The man was putting up a "horrific fight," Garcia said.
"So I run over there and I put this WWF move on him, and I slam him down," he said.
How did he learn the move?
"Watching wrestling on TV, of course,” Garcia said.
A Walmart employee who was collecting shopping carts from the parking lot at the time said he was impressed by Garcia’s move.
“It was very cool,” employee Ivan Torres said. “He gave up as soon as he came. He was like, ‘OK, OK, I give.’ So he gave up real quick.”
Garcia said a police officer on a motorcycle arrived quickly.
"Boy, it's like something out of a TV show,” he said. “It was something."
A second man suspected of shoplifting stole a bicycle and got away in the confusion, said North Richland Hills police investigator Larry Irving.
Garcia, of Fort Worth, decided to become a bell ringer for the first time this year to help people. He said the incident does not dampen his holiday cheer.
"Everybody is doing bad,” he said. “But I myself witness -- even though people are doing bad, the economy is doing bad -- they're still giving."
After the excitement was over, Garcia continued ringing his bell and asking for donations outside the Walmart.
"Hello folks, Merry Christmas!"
