Watch: Suspected Thief Falls Through Macy's Ceiling, Makes Truly Brutal Landing on Ladder as Cops Grab, Cuff
A half-naked suspected thief learned a painful lesson while trying to flee the police after being caught crawling around the ceiling of a mall on the afternoon of Sept. 20.
According to the Vancouver Police Department in Washington state, officers were called to the Vancouver Mall “after employees reported a man crawling around in the ceiling and breaking through ceiling tiles.”
“Officers gave him multiple commands to come down, but he kept moving through the ceiling, breaking more tiles and damaging lights, wiring and other fixtures,” the department reported in a post published to X.
After evacuating the second floor of the mall, the police placed a ladder under the ceiling and told the suspect to climb down. He complied at first, but then tried rushing back up into the ceiling, prompting them to pull the ladder out from under him and teach him a painful lesson.
You know it’s going to be an interesting shift when a suspect is crawling in the ceiling at a department store… 👀🙃
Last Wednesday, VPD officers responded to the Vancouver Mall after employees reported a man crawling around in the ceiling and breaking through ceiling tiles.
Officers gave him multiple commands to come down, but he kept moving through the ceiling, breaking more tiles and damaging lights, wiring and other fixtures.
The second floor was evacuated while officers and firefighters tried to get him down. A ladder was placed in the ceiling, and a mattress was put underneath him in case he fell.
After more than an hour of trying to talk him into coming down, he finally stepped onto the ladder. He then tried to climb back into the ceiling, so officers pulled the ladder away to keep him from going back up.
He landed on the mattress, got up and tried to run. That didn’t work out so well. 🚔
The suspect, Gabriel Hideo, was taken into custody and later booked for:
🔹 Malicious Mischief in the First Degree
🔹 Burglary in the First Degree
🔹 Felony warrantGreat teamwork once again! 👏💪
For an accessible, audio-described version of this video, visit: https://t.co/NU70Gf7Q4s
#vanpoliceusa #bodycam #vancouver #police #cops
— Vancouver Police USA (@VancouverPDUSA) October 6, 2026
As the police pulled the ladder out from under the man, he collapsed down toward the ground, but first ran into some trouble as his groin wound up getting caught and hit by the ladder in a very painful accident.
In a video posted to social media, the Vancouver Police Department mocked the suspect, noting that “it was at this moment he knew he screwed up.”
Despite the unexpected hit to the groin, the man ultimately collapsed all the way down to a mattress the police had placed on the ground. From there, he unsuccessfully tried jumping back up and fleeing the scene.
“He landed on the mattress, got up and tried to run. That didn’t work out so well,” the agency wrote in a Facebook post.
The man has since been identified as Gabriel Hideo, a 21-year-old who’s been charged with malicious mischief in the first degree and burglary in the first degree. He was also booked on an outstanding felony warrant.
The public is now having a field day with the situation.
@VancouverPDUSA Bro really thought the ceiling tiles were a getaway plan 😂 Mission Impossible budget, mall food court execution. Good work by the officers getting him down in one piece.
— I like fire (@PyroCBoy) October 6, 2026
“Why ruin a good mattress? Mopping the floor is better,” one critic wrote on X, suggesting that it would have been better had Hideo crashed all the way to the ground instead of onto the ladder and then mattress.
“They were way nicer than we were when we found a criminal in the ceiling/attic,” another critic wrote, noting their own experience with ceiling thieves. “We provided no soft landing, maybe next time they’d think twice before going up, knowing coming down wasn’t so pleasant.”
“Wouldnt be canada if they didnt give him a soft landing,” a third critic wrote, mistakenly confusing Vancouver, Washington, with Vancouver, British Columbia.
According to the Daily Mirror, prior to Hideo being apprehended, he was spotted crawling around the ceiling shirtless while “grunting and growling.”
“An official motive for why Gabriel Hideo climbed into the ceiling has not been released, but court records and police statements heavily imply he was trying to evade law enforcement because he knew he had an outstanding felony warrant,” the site reported.
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