Lings Supermarket store owner locking doors after being hit in the face stopping shoplifters

A customer to a Red Centre speciality grocery store has caught the tragic moment the proprietor put herself on the line to stop an alleged shoplifting attempt. See the confronting video.

A Red Centre specialty grocery store has taken the extreme measure of keeping its doors locked throughout the day after repeated incidents left staff terrified.

Lings Supermarket in Alice Springs has been in business for 13 years now, and while May was supposed to be the month to celebrate the business’ endurance, recent events have soured the occasion, co-owner Chloe Reid said.

Originally from Taiwan, Mrs Reid said in recent weeks, youths had visited the store and repeatedly attempted to shoplift and threatened to assault staff if they called police.

Lings Supermarket co-owner Chloe Reid.

With staff terrified, Ms Reid said she confronted the youths outside her store to tell them to leave and to attempt to recover her stolen goods.

But on Wednesday, May 13, the youth she confronted instead gave her something else back – striking her in the head before fleeing, according to Mrs Reid.

“So that’s why we made the decision to put a doorbell in,” she said.

“But I still feel like that’s not good enough.

“I still feel like I’m not doing enough to protect my staff.”

Lings Supermarket customers now have to use a doorbell to enter the store.

Now, customers have to ring a doorbell to get into the store, with staff manually buzzing in all customers.

“Why do I have to do all of this just to survive in Alice Springs,” Mrs Reid asks, exasperated.

“I shouldn’t have to feel like (this).”

Mrs Reid co-owns the store with her husband Bruce, who shared similar sentiments.

“It’s not good enough that an innocent, hard working Alice Springs long-term resident – trying to raise children and run a business and support the community – has to put up with this crap,” he said.

“It’s not the first time, it’s about the fourth time.”

The Reids said Mrs Reid had been threatened with a knife previously and they have had $5000 – $6000 stolen in a break-in.

“A couple nights I actually wake up at two or three in the morning to come back to the shop to check that everything’s all right,” Mrs Reid said.

The cost of security is too much for the tiny store, according to Mrs Reid, who said high costs of freight had seen the store barely scraping a profit.

“I’m really just trying to survive here,” she said.

NT Police was contacted for comment.