Sunrise Police are on the lookout for a man accused of recording women in the fitting room of an H&M store at Sawgrass Mills mall, a bustling shopping destination in Sunrise. The disturbing privacy violation took place around 1:45 p.m. on a busy Monday, reported NBC Miami. Two women were in a changing room when they noticed a phone being placed over the stall. The suspect hastily left the scene after the women confronted him.
The alleged incident was further detailed by Natanael Villalobos, the father and uncle of the victims, in an interview with Local 10 News. According to Villalobos, the women, aged 19 and 22, spotted the suspect standing behind them in line before they entered the fitting room. The situation took an alarming turn when one of the women looked up to see a phone camera protruding above the top wall of the dressing room. "My daughter happened to look up and saw a phone camera sticking out above the top wall of the dressing room," said Villalobos.
During the chaos that followed, one of the victims attempted to grab the device, but it dropped back into the adjacent stall. Villalobos recounted the frantic sequence of events after his daughter called him, saying "My initial reaction was just being very mad. Even the officer told me I needed to calm down a little bit," as per Local 10 News report. A store employee instructed the suspect to exit the store, and the police were promptly called to the mall. Sunrise Police have since confirmed that an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The man accused of the surreptitious filming is described as a slim, bald white man appearing to be in his 40s. Villalobos has urged both the police and mall security to collaborate in order to catch the individual responsible for the invasion of privacy. Anyone with information concerning this case is encouraged to contact the Sunrise Police Department at 954-746-3370 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.
