J.C Penney employee holds customer in headlock

A dramatic video has been seen by hundreds of thousands on Facebook.

It shows a girl being held in a headlock by a J.C. Penney employee Thursday night at the University Park Mall.

The girl in the headlock was with her family in the store when they say they were told to leave by the man in the video. They say he told them they didn't belong there.

Hearing that they should get out of the store because they didn't belong didn't sit well with the girl. She knocked over a display on the way out and that's when the family says the man wrestled her into a headlock.

Countless screams for the man to ease up echoed through the store.

"Let her go! " people shouted.

But no matter how many times they shouted, the man kept the girl in a headlock.

The family yelled that she had the money to pay for the promotional display that was knocked over.

"She can pay!" they said.

But the man still held tight.

He tells the crowd to back up and he'll let her go.

"I will if you back away!" the man shouts.

But he never follows through on the promise.

Minutes later, mall security shows up to the store and takes the girl away in handcuffs.

After the video ends and her dad gets to the store, the girl walks out of the security room free to go

I reached out to the mall, but they didn't return my call. Then I called the store, who said they can't speak about what happened last night or even talk about their security protocols. Then I even Facebook messaged and emailed the man in the video, but I didn't receive an answer and was blocked. So it doesn't look like we'll be hearing their side of the story any time soon.

Right now, the family doesn't feel comfortable going on camera to talk about everything until they've talked to a lawyer. The girl in the video also told me that if the man would have let go, she would have been willing to stay put and talk.