A 35-year-old woman has died after jumping over a railing at a Rhode Island parking garage while running from security officers.
Police told NBC News 10 the woman, accused of shoplifting, was running from Nordstrom store security through a parking garage at the Providence Place Mall before she leapt from the railing around 7.30pm on Thursday. Loss prevention personnel from the store – private security officers – had been trying to apprehend her.
The Providence Place Mall map shows Nordstrom is adjacent to a parking garage near Park Street. Police said she jumped from the first level of the parking garage, which was a 25ft drop.
The woman was taken to Rhode Island hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Officials have not yet released woman’s identity and it is not yet known what she may have taken from Nordstrom.
Nordstrom’s customer bill of rights states that the store keeps security guards and loss prevention professionals. They have the authority to detain customers if necessary.
Providence police and a spokesperson for Providence Place Mall did not immediately respond to Guardian requests for comment.
