Security footage of Arik Gilbert's break in, arrest surfaces

A video circulating on social media purportedly shows Nebraska tight end Arik Gilbert breaking into and attempting to rob a store early on Tuesday morning. Gilbert was arrested at the scene.

The video apparently shows Gilbert — the figure in the video appears to have wrapped a shirt around his head to obscure his identity on cameras — kicking in part of a back door before crawling into the premises. He then walks down a hallway before kicking in an interior door to get to the showroom.

Once there, he stole a number of items totaling more than $1500 from a liquor and vape store. Police arrested him as he tried to exit the store, a moment caught on camera.

Gilbert was taken into custody Tuesday morning in Lancaster County, according to police records. Officers were called to SJ’s Liquor and Vape Shop in the 2600 block of O St. shortly before 2 a.m., according to a statement from the Lincoln Police Department. That’s where they arrested Gilbert without incident after they found him with more than $1,600 worth of vape products, Delta 8, cigars and lighters in a bag.

Gilbert was one of Nebraska’s biggest transfer portal additions under new coach Matt Rhule, coming in as the No. 9-ranked tight end transfer this cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings. He started his career at LSU in 2021 before transferring to Georgia, but he decided to transfer again — meaning he needed a waiver.

Rhule addressed the arrest briefly on Tuesday.

“I don’t have a lot of details,” Rhule said. “You guys probably have more details than me. I got a quick phone call and then went out to the field. We’ll work through those as we get more information. But sad and disappointed. Disappointed for him and his family, disappointed, obviously, for the business owner. We’ll have to just report through it as we move forward.”

The footage, which appears to be from a local newscast, was reposted on TikTok with captions, seemingly from the store owners.

“When a Nebraska football player breaks in your store,” the first caption reads, before a follow up remarking how Gilbert used a piece of cement in the parking lot to break the door: “At least he’s throwing it like a football.”

Later on, as Gilbert is grabbing merchandise, a new caption comes on.

“Yeah your fast… but not fast enough,” it reads, cutting to police waiting outside the broken exterior door.

The video closes with Gilbert cuffed and a screenshot of an article reporting his arrest and criminal charges.