Man Dressed As Female Tries To Photograph Women In Bathroom, Brandishes Pepper Ball Gun

A Texas man dressed in female clothing was arrested for allegedly trying to secretly click photos in a women's restroom at a Fort Worth mall.

He also brandished a pepper ball gun at those who tried to stop him from fleeing the scene.

The incident took place on Christmas Eve at about 4:30 p.m. at Hulen Mall in Fort Worth, when a woman noticed a mobile phone facing her from underneath the bathroom stall. Moments later, the unidentified woman confronted the suspect, described as "a male that was dressed to look like a female," who then attempted to flee the scene, according to the New York Post.

As the female victim followed the suspect across the mall, another individual who saw the confrontation between the two attempted to intervene and stop him from leaving. At this time, the suspect reached into his backpack and pulled out what appeared to be a handgun, pointing it at the male witness, NBC DFW reported.

"The suspect pulled out and presented what appeared to be a gun," Fort Worth police corporal Joshua Johnson told reporters. "He pulled it from a backpack which he was carrying and pointed it at that first witness and then continued to flee."

The suspect then fled the scene with a handgun seen in the waistband of his pants as he changed his clothes. Bystanders followed the suspect until the cops reached the mall. Upon arrival, officers located the suspect, later identified as Douglas Egan, 45, near the mall and arrested him.

Multiple witnesses reported seeing a man carrying a handgun and pursuing a woman at the mall. It was later determined that the supposed handgun Egan was carrying was in fact a pepper ball gun.

No injuries were reported and no shots were fired in the incident, which resulted in the mall being locked down for a short period of time, according to the police.

Egan was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and improper photography in the bathroom. He was held at the Tarrant County Corrections Center on a combined $30,000 bond.

Egan was found to be a registered sex offender and was previously convicted of indecent exposure and indecency with a child. According to the Texas Sex Offenders registry, he served seven years in prison, and was released earlier this year.