TikTok user under fire for filming robbery

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A TikToker who posted footage of an alleged armed robbery at a convenience store in Philadelphia has been criticised for apparently putting herself in harm’s way.

The video, posted by a user calling themselves “Janni”, shows two men in ski masks enter a store and appear to rob the cashier. The video has attached 850,000 views.

The person starts to walk towards the phone, and Janni can be seen putting her arm over her mouth in fear.

“The one time I went to a grocery store by myself and it got robbed,” she wrote in text overlay on the clip posted on 10 February.

In two subsequent TikTok videos she explained she started recording because she was scared.

She said she captured two men in bright ski masks who pulled out guns and demanded money from the cashier, while other customers took cover.

Some commenters questioned why she wouldn’t have tried to call the police or tried to hide.

“You seriously just filmed them you didn’t take cover or anything?” one commenter asked.

“We all die young,” Janni replied.

One person commented: “Natural selection at that point.”

“Maybe 911 would have been a better choice then filming,” another said.

In a third video posted on Wednesday, other customers can be seen hiding down an aisle as the armed robbers appear to talk to the cashier.

Another commenter thought the clips could provide evidence for police to find the perpetrators.

“Everyone’s mad ur recording but watch this video help solve the case,” one TikToker remarked.

Several users ask Janni for more details about when and where the alleged robbery took place, but she did not offer any more detailed information.

The Independent has contacted Janni and the Philadelphia Police Department seeking more information.

Under TikTok’s community guidelines, users are banned from posting content that “depicts, promotes, normalizes, or glorifies” risky behaviour.