Suspect Leads Laurel Police on Wild Chase Through Aldi Before Arrest

A Brazen Robbery, a Desperate Sprint, and an Aisle-by-Aisle Pursuit

A Silver Spring man is in custody following a dramatic pursuit in Laurel, Maryland. What started as a bold daylight crime quickly turned into a foot chase that wound through the aisles of a neighborhood grocery store — and the whole thing was caught on camera.

Police say 34-year-old Alex Skinner Abramson robbed a woman in broad daylight, stole her keys, and tried to carjack her in the early morning hours on Thursday, September 18. It was a brazen attack — the kind that leaves victims shaken and communities on edge. But what happened next was anything but ordinary.

Officers on the Ground, Eyes in the Sky

After the attempted carjacking, Abramson took off running. Officers on the ground gave chase immediately, while the police department's drone team tracked his movements from above. The combination of boots on the pavement and eyes in the sky created a net that would prove nearly impossible to escape.

The suspect ran into a local supermarket, and officers followed him through the store. "He's in the Aldi! He's in the Aldi," one officer can be heard shouting on body-worn camera footage. It's a moment that's equal parts tense and surreal — officers weaving through shoppers and checkout lanes in pursuit of a man who had just attacked a woman outside.

The police department shared body-worn camera video of the chase that led officers through the supermarket. The footage quickly drew widespread attention, offering a rare, unfiltered look at how rapidly a criminal situation can escalate — and how quickly officers can respond when they're working as a coordinated team.

A Coordinated Takedown

Abramson exited the store on the other side, but a coordinated effort by police allowed them to arrest him. The drone unit overhead proved critical — even as the suspect tried to use the grocery store as a means of escape, officers waiting on the other side were already in position. There was nowhere left to run.

This kind of multi-layered response — ground units, aerial surveillance, and body cameras all working in sync — represents a significant evolution in how local police departments handle fast-moving situations. Drone technology in particular has become an increasingly valuable tool for departments in the Maryland and Washington, D.C. region, giving officers a real-time aerial view that foot patrols simply cannot replicate.

What This Case Reveals About Modern Policing

Carjacking remains a persistent concern across the greater D.C. metro area, and cases like this one underscore both the boldness of offenders and the growing sophistication of law enforcement responses. The fact that this arrest was captured so vividly on body camera — including the frantic in-store chase — gives the public a transparent window into exactly how these situations unfold in real time.

Abramson is now in custody, and the case will move through the criminal justice system. But the footage itself may have a life beyond this single arrest. Viral body camera moments have a way of reshaping public conversations about police tactics, community safety, and accountability all at once. As drone programs expand and body cameras become standard equipment, expect more of these remarkable, unscripted moments to emerge — and more suspects to learn the hard way that there are very few places left to hide.