Top 10 Craziest Things to Ever Happen at Target

In 2021, shoppers inside a New Jersey Target were asked to vacate the store after a Hyundai Elantra crashed through the window. The car didn’t go quite as far into the store as the vehicle in the original “Jumanji” movie does, but it certainly did some damage. Fortunately, the injuries to the driver, passenger, and one Target employee were described as only “minor.” It apparently wasn’t an easy job for fire officials to remove the car, because a big display case was stuck on the passenger-side front wheel. You could say it was a wheel-y tricky situation—and a memorable Target trip for anyone there at the time.

Sometimes you might not be satisfied with your purchase. That’s what stores have return policies for. But some customers can miss the mark with what qualifies as a returnable item. Step one: Make sure you’re returning the item at the store you bought it from. And, while you’re at it, make sure you have some integrity. One Target employee explained to Business Insider that someone once tried to return a non-Target item and insisted it was bought at Target. Another return story is just laughable. One Target crew member claimed that a customer once came to the store to try to return a “Walmart” shirt. Seriously, returning a rival’s shirt?

While in a fitting room at a Target in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a teenage girl’s privacy was grossly invaded without her knowledge at the time. The store’s loss prevention officers noticed that a hidden camera had been installed. Authorities responded promptly and, with the help of the store’s loss prevention staff, concluded that the camera had been placed there by a middle-aged man. Before he could even leave the store, officials were on the scene to arrest him and take him to jail. To only make the story more disturbing, this man had already done similar criminal acts and was a convicted sex offender.

Unfortunately, the immoral act of shoplifting doesn’t seem to be all that rare of an occurrence. But when a celebrity does it, that’s sure to open eyes. Target has been the place for such an occurrence on more than one occasion. Kim Richards, who starred in “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” was in the news in 2015 after being arrested for theft. It was reported that Richards stole an entire cart full of items—valued at a total of $600—from a Los Angeles Target. Actor Adam Wylie, who some people may recognize from the series “Picket Fences” or “Gilmore Girls,” also got arrested for shoplifting at a Target in a different California location.

You know those big inflatable dinosaur costumes? Maybe you’ve seen one online or in person, perhaps on Halloween. One Target employee’s funniest in-store memory was of someone who walked in wearing one of those dino costumes along with a pair of heels. It’s not every day you come across a dinosaur with great taste in footwear. In cases like this, it’s the randomness that can make the event so memorable. Witnessing this on the job is definitely something that can liven up your shift! We hope that dino in heels found what they were looking for at Target.

Dressed in a Target uniform, a man decided to show up to the place he used to work to make a dirty point of some sorts. He pretended he was a seasonal employee, arriving at the start of the workday and getting a legit employee to open the door for him. He wasn’t there to only pretend he still worked there, George-Costanza style. No, no, this former Target employee had meaner intentions. After gaining entry, he robbed several hundred dollars worth of electronics from the store and fled recklessly, ultimately crashing his vehicle. The police took the man into custody and recovered the stolen items.

You may be familiar with those try-on hauls that social media influencers do—where they post about the various items they bought at a store. One TikToker did one of the silliest and most unethical try-on hauls one can do. Police were searching for information about a young woman who had shoplifted at a Target in Cape Coral, Florida. She had scanned false barcodes at self-checkout and stolen about $500 worth of items. It turned out someone recognized her from TikTok—presumably one of her more than 300,000 followers. Not only did the woman steal from Target, she posted a video of her day at the store—the day she stole!

We typically expect to start our shopping spree with a clean, trash-free cart. However, every now and then, you might find one that’s not as spotless as you’d like. At a Target in Iowa, one customer found something totally unexpected in a cart. It was a snake—a boa constrictor to be exact! It’s safe to say the customer didn’t end up using that cart. The Target team responded to the situation and brought animal control in. Goats were once found at a Target in Texas, but that’s not quite as startling as a snake. While it’s unclear how the slithery visitor ended up there, a herpetologist and professor later volunteered to take the snake, planning to use it for educational purposes in the classroom.

There’s nothing quite like roaming through the toy aisle as a kid. Particularly at a store like Target, there’s so many things you could find! However, in 2014, in the toy aisle at a Target in South Carolina, there was something that never should have been there: a loaded handgun. Luckily, rather than a kid finding the weapon, which was on top of a superhero Playskool toy box, a Target employee on the loss prevention team found it and reported it. In response to this alarming situation, a spokeswoman for Target expressed the company’s commitment to ensuring the safety and security of both employees and customers.

It’s one thing for an 8-year-old to be shopping alone at Target. But driving herself there? That’s a whole different story! And yes, that’s exactly what happened in Ohio. This little girl didn’t just take a quick spin either—she drove her mom’s SUV for a solid 25 minutes to get there. Scary? Totally. Impressive? Kind of. Condoned? Definitely not. Thankfully, she made it to the store in one piece! Once inside, she strolled through the aisles, casually shopping with a few Benjamins in her pocket. Of course, the police showed up, found her, and probably had the same thought we all do: She’s only 8 years old!

Do you have a memory of something unusual you saw at a Target? Let us know in the comments!