@blablarg18 The story does not give enough information. The claim now by the head office official is that they were terminated for trying to interfere or otherwise engage with the accused, but yet it does not mention how this exactly transpired.
Without knowing the full story behind the matter, it's hard to say which side to take. In most retail operations that I have worked, the rules are clear... I have been known to push the line when I worked in retail because you legally cannot harass someone or have them charged for theft until the merchandise has actually left the store, and you're not supposed to engage with them.
I would push the envelope. If I saw 5 items on 5 hangers go into the change room, and only saw 2 items on 2 hangers come out of the change room with the other 3 empty hangers in the change room, I would walk up to them as they're about to walk out the front door, hand them the hangers, and say something like "These are your get out of jail free cards. If those items magically reappear on these hangers in that change room in the next 5 minutes, I'll pretend I saw nothing". If they just ran or walked away, I would not engage any further. By most company policies, even my pushing the envelope is considered a no no.
The same holds true if a customer reveals a weapon and threatens to use it and/or demands that you open the register. Even if you know you can over power them and disarm them, you are not allowed to be a hero, and can only open the register, then hand over the cash and let them walk out of the store with it. Once they're out of the store, most places want you to then lock the door to prevent re-entry, then call 911.
Being the way that I am, I can understand why these employees would want to try to intervene, but given the world we live in these days, that can be quite a dangerous thing to do.