GLOUCESTER, Va. - It's nearly 7 p.m. on Sunday, October 20. Twister Ice Cream and Coffee in Gloucester is closed for the night, but surveillance cameras pointed towards the business' pumpkin patch are rolling.
The cameras catch a woman and a young child looking at pumpkins. Without paying, the woman is seen taking a pumpkin from the large pile and loading it into the bed of her pick-up truck.
Before driving off, the child gets out of the truck and grabs a medium sized pumpkin from the patch. Together, the two drive off.
Mi Bush owns the coffee shop. She watched the theft happen after getting a notification from her Ring surveillance camera app.
"To see it as it was happening... I couldn’t believe it. I was looking over it again and again," said Bush. "I was just thinking, 'Wow, this is wrong.'"
The two pumpkins cost less than $20. For Bush, though, the theft isn't about the money lost; it's about the lesson learned.
"This is wrong. It's not about the pumpkin. It's not a lot, but it's teaching a young kid to do a bad thing."
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Bush posted a video of the theft on Facebook. In less than 24 hours, it had been shared more than 150 times and viewed more than 6,000 times. Many of the commenters agree with Bush.
"He may be stealing a pumpkin today, but in 10 years from now, what is going to happen to him?" asked Bush. "It's just wrong, l I think."
She reported the theft to Gloucester Police but hopes that sharing the video will encourage the child to no longer steal - even if an adult is encouraging it.
