Shopping Carts Zip Tied To Cars At The Crossings In Smithfield

SMITHFIELD, RI —Smithfield police are investigating two cases of shopping carts being zip tied to vehicles in the parking lot of the Crossings on Saturday. Police said they were called to The Crossings when one male employee found his vehicle zip tied, and learned of a second incident through social media on Sunday.

Police said both incidents appear to have happened at the same time on Saturday.

Police said while social media posts have suggested that having a shopping cart tied to your vehicle "may be a sex-trafficking scheme" there is no evidence to suggest that is the case with The Crossing incidents as of yet. Smithfield police did caution that shoppers should be aware of their surroundings at all time in parking lots and either head back into the store or contact police if anything suspicious occurs.

Police urged shoppers not to accept help from a stranger in a parking lot offering to help you remove the zip tie if an incident occurs.

An investigation is ongoing.