10 Shocking Crimes Caught on Security Camera

10 Shocking Crimes Caught on Security Camera

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be looking at the most brazen criminal acts that were documented, in real-time, on surveillance cameras.

A Foiled Bank Robbery

In April 2016, two would-be robbers paid a visit to a Banco do Brasil branch in Praia Grande, Brazil. Their choice of disguise was far from ordinary. Instead of the typical balaclava with eye and mouth cut-outs, these suspects opted for shiny, head-to-toe foil suits. The intention behind these outfits was to outsmart the bank’s alarm system which, surprisingly, didn’t detect them. However, their metallic cloaks failed to grant them invisibility, as the bank’s surveillance cameras recorded their every move. Security staff noticed the criminals on the tape and swiftly called the authorities. Although the two managed to escape before police arrived, their efforts to breach the bank’s safe appeared to have been in vain.

Abduction of Carlesha Freeland-Gaither

On a quiet Sunday night in November 2014, Carlesha Freeland-Gaither was walking down a nearly desolate Philadelphia street when she was suddenly grabbed by Delvin Barnes. Security cameras had recorded Barnes’ car pulling up just moments before the kidnapping. In the harrowing footage, Freeland-Gaither puts up a fight, as she screams, kicks and even smashes the car windows in a desperate bid to escape. Despite her efforts, she is ultimately forced in and driven away. Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Thanks to tips from the public, authorities identified Barnes and tracked his car to Maryland. Three days after her abduction off the street, Freeland-Gaither was rescued by police, and Barnes was arrested at the scene.

Kidnapping Of Carlie Brucia

This surveillance footage, recorded at a carwash in Sarasota, Florida, shows a girl being approached by a man, who then takes her by the arm and leads her away. Tragically, this was the last time she was seen alive. The girl in question, Carlie Brucia, had been walking home on February 1st 2004 when Joseph P. Smith, captured on camera, abducted her and ultimately ended her life. The widely televised security tape prompted calls from the public which identified the abductor. Smith was already in police custody for probation violations when he confessed to the crime and led police to her body. He was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder and later passed away while awaiting execution.

Florida Student Beats up Teacher

A student at the Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, Florida took matters into his own hands after his teacher confiscated his Nintendo Switch video game. As the staffer walked out onto the common area, the boy ran after her, launching her into the air and knocking her unconscious. He then proceeded to physically assault her, before a group of school employees managed to subdue him. Surveillance of the shocking incident, which occurred on February 21st 2023, made its way to the public and was widely circulated. Initially, the student was arraigned in juvenile court due to his age, but he was later transferred to the adult system, facing a possible 30-year sentence for aggravated battery.

Abduction of Leo Norvell

On November 12th 2021, an Amber alert was issued in the state of California after the abduction of Leo Norvell by a man named Joshua Yago. Yago had reportedly carried out a shooting in the Sacramento area, resulting in minor injuries to a man and a woman. Subsequently, he chased after the woman and forcibly snatched her child, Leo Norvell, out of her arms. The distressing incident played out in full view of a home security camera. Fortunately, a couple of hours after the Amber alert was issued, the boy was found with the suspect, unharmed. Yago was swiftly arrested by police and faced charges related to both the kidnapping and shooting.

An Unprovoked Attack on the Miami Metro

September 4th 2020 is a date that will probably be forever etched in the memory of Andrea Puerta. While riding the Miami metro, Puerta endured a horrifying attack by a man whom she had never seen before. The onslaught was random and unprovoked, and left Puerta unconscious, with a concussion, broken rib and severe bruising. Despite initially losing consciousness, Puerta summoned the strength to get off the train and call the police. Her attacker, Joshua James King, reportedly assaulted two other people that same day before he was apprehended and charged with three counts of aggravated battery. Watching this ordeal is harrowing enough and one can only imagine how agonizing it must have been to experience it.

Brazen Thief Breaks Into Cars

Robert Is Here is a popular fruit stand in Homestead, Florida that attracts hundreds of tourists and locals every day. Over the years, Robert Moehling, the owner of the facility, has seen his fair share of great and not-so-great patrons. In a bid to enhance security, Moehling installed surveillance cameras on the premises. In May of 2018, these cameras recorded a man breaking into customers’ cars in broad daylight and stealing their valuables. The suspect appeared to have an accomplice, who drove him to and from the scene of the crime. Although the footage was released to the public, it remains uncertain if law enforcement managed to identify the culprits.

Abduction of James Bulger

At first glance, it may look like two brothers taking a casual stroll in the mall, but this grainy footage from February 12th 1993 actually depicts a crime. The toddler is James Bulger, who was at a shopping center in Bootle, England with his mother when he was abducted by two preteen boys. Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, can be seen in the footage leading Bulger out of the mall, with Thompson holding his hand. Subsequently, they took him on a long walk to Walton, Liverpool, where they subjected him to horrible treatment and left him for dead. In November that year, they were found guilty of killing Bulger, becoming the youngest convicted murderers in modern British history.

Horrifying Attack on Manchester Street

A machete-wielding assailant brazenly hacking at his victim on a busy street is something you may think only happens in horror movies. But in 2021, that scene became a reality for passers-by on a Cheetham Hill street in Manchester, England. 22-year-old Mujtaba Saeed-Ahmed was arrested after descending on another man with a machete, leaving him with injuries to his back and hand. Saeed-Ahmed, an alleged drug dealer, reportedly got into an argument with the victim over the phone, before driving down in a taxi and carrying out the assault. Although the injuries sustained were not life-threatening, the brazen onslaught earned Saeed-Ahmed a seven-year sentence for charges including wounding with intent and possession of a blade.

New Mother Abandons Baby

On January 7th 2022, surveillance cameras outside the Rig Outfitters and Home Store in Hobbs, New Mexico recorded a lady driving up to a dumpster and throwing a trash bag inside. This might seem ordinary, except that a few hours later, a group of dumpster divers heard cries coming from the bins. To their shock, they found a newborn baby wrapped in a trash bag. He had been dumped there by his mother, Alexis Avila. Following her arrest, Avila claimed she had not realized she was pregnant until a day before she actually went into labor. Consequently, she was convicted of attempted murder and child maltreatment, receiving a 16-year prison sentence.


Which of these horrifying crimes left your jaw on the floor? Let us know in the comments.