GALLATIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — A man who allegedly tried to break into a Gallatin store in the middle of the night may have gotten away, but his face was still recorded by security cameras.

“As small business owners, we can’t afford many things like this to happen,” said Randy McCall, who owns Middle Tennessee Auto Sales & Services, which he started in 2022.

According to McCall, his surveillance caught the man trespassing through his dealership Monday morning near N. Water Avenue and Prince Street.

“Walking, which is not normal, walking through our parking lot at 2:18 a.m. that morning,” he added.

The man then headed straight to the Kwik Kash Pawn Shop of Gallatin right across the street. The owner of that store told News 2 the man tried breaking in through two different entryways, using some sort of pick to unlock the door, but it didn’t work.

“He attempted to use that tool to gain entry into the pawn shop, and when that failed, he resorted to trying to bust out the bottom glass or the glass in general of the door of the pawn shop,” said McCall. 

McCall said the man eventually spotted the cameras and got scared off.

“As soon as he looked up at our building, he noticed it and turned away very quickly, and just turned his back toward the cameras and walked away,” the business owner explained.

In the end, nothing was stolen, but the pawn shop door is damaged. McCall said he hopes the man does the right thing and turns himself in.

“Maybe he can turn his life around now, versus going down and continuing the path of crimes, so I hope he rethinks his decisions, for sure,” he added.

According to McCall, Gallatin city leaders and law enforcement need to stay ahead of these sorts of crimes.

“Gallatin’s growing currently. We want it to continue to grow. However, if new business owners are looking into and they see stuff like this, they’re not going to want to start new business ventures in the area. They’re going to move somewhere else.”

The owner of the pawn shop said this wasn’t the first time an incident like this happened. She was beaten and had cash stolen from her years ago.