Delaware woman goes shopping at JCPenney with her cousin. Then she says security accused them of stealing: ‘This cannot be ignored’

A Delaware shopper alleges that she and her cousin were at a local JCPenney store when a security guard approached and accused them of stealing shortly after they entered. She maintains they were told to leave, despite insisting they hadn’t taken anything. According to her, after the store did not reach out to them, she decided to make the incident public.

In a TikTok post, Nasia (@lul.nasiaa) alleges that she and her cousins were racially profiled at a JCPenney store in Wilmington, Delaware, while looking for an outfit for a young cousin’s school photos. She claims a security guard approached them about five minutes after they entered. According to Nasia, the security guard stated that “two black girls were stealing.” Nasia also maintains that another female shopper identified her and her cousins as the suspected individuals.

Although Nasia didn’t film the alleged incident itself, she says the security guard refused to show her the surveillance footage when she requested to view it for proof. She does have video of herself walking around the store and claims to have collected names from those involved. Nasia says she decided to move forward by emailing JCPenney about what happened and maintains that, despite reaching out multiple times, she has not received a response.

The shopper seeks accountability

Nasia wrote, “THIS CANNOT BE IGNORED. I want JCPenney corporate to acknowledge my complaint, investigate what happened, identify everyone involved, preserve the surveillance footage, and take appropriate accountability.” She added that she refuses to allow this to be “swept under the rug.”

Nasia says she went to a manager at the shopping center to report the incident. According to her, a manager eventually told her and her cousins they were “fine to shop” and acknowledged that the security guard had been wrong to ask them to leave. Nasia clarified in the comments that she does not believe every JCPenney employee is racist; nonetheless, she still describes the experience as humiliating for her and her cousins.

Commenters immediately responded to Nasia’s video following the concerning incident. One commenter simply claimed, “They big racist in there.” Another viewer shared a similar situation in the same JCPenney store: “A few years ago, something similar happened to my mom. She was shopping and she called me because she doesn’t speak english too well and some [JCPenney] employee kept treating her poorly and assuming she was stealing something when she had just walked in to shop. I was livid I couldn’t be there,” another chimed in.

Racial discrimination in retail remains prevalent, with Gallup polls showing 59% of Black Americans report unfair treatment in stores. Sociologist Cassi Pittman Claytor, in her study “Shopping While Black,” notes that sales staff, security, and store policies often reinforce stereotypes that Black shoppers are more likely to steal or cannot afford certain items.