Accused of Shoplifting today

Today me and my friend were on the hunt to find some snacks. So we entered this one gas station, looked around for a bit, nothing caught our eye so we left. But on our way out I was accused of taking a package of gum. Now, the person that was working was waking us the whole entire time. I did not one time pass the gum or even look at it, as I soon found out it was at the counter(which I did not go by). Me being the person with anxiety I completely broke down. I thought I was gonna go to jail for something I did not do. I emptied my pockets and told her I did not take anything or have the need to steal, as I have money. She then goes on to say that I wouldn't be crying if I didn't take anything. She went outside and took my friend's plate number and then sent me off. For the next hour and a half both of us were having anxiety attacks about the whole situation.
There was no reason of accusing me of stealing gum when she was watching out every move...I'm extremely embarrassed and I'm still scared that the worker is gonna end up trying to put some sort of charge on me or put some false claim in my friend's plate number...
At this point my anxiety has turned me numb and the whole experience didn't seem real...I'm still scared even though I am safe...I'm the moment I honestly thought I was gonna be in cuffs for something I didn't do...and that's scary...

You're not in any trouble if you did nothing wrong, there is no legal way whatsoever you can be prosecuted, so don't worry about a thing. Apparently this clerk is an idiot and decided to take out her frustration on you. You should have called the police on her. What I would do is find out who the store manager is and calmly and politely tell the manager how upset you are that you were falsely accused.

I'm so sorry you experienced this . You should definitely complain to the manager .
I once went in a shop with my daughter's who were only about 6 and 9 . We were getting some drinks when my dad showed up unexpectedly out side the shop and was calling me outside . I gave my older daughter the money to pay for their drinks and stepped outside to talk to my dad . Shortly after the shop manager came out screaming at my daughter that she didn't pay for her drink . My daughter who has Aspergus burst into tears and was hysterical insisting she payed and I instantly screamed at the manager and the other worker confirmed to him that she did in fact pay . Well I think I continued to scream at him for another 5 minutes and he did apologies and he tried to blame to worker , hinting at me that the worker was trying to steal the money for him self when I don't think that's what happened , the manager was just passing the blame . It's disgusting .

I’m so sorry this happened to you! What a horrible person who treated you like that. I really hope you are ok.

Oh my God, what an #%#%#%#.

Clerks know how to call the police if they think something was stolen.

I think you were intentionally harassed for sport.

i agree with all the above posters. Terrible situation handled inappropriately. But you are strong. You got out of the other side! It is behind you now. Cudows for doing so.

Did the place have cameras? Most places do nowadays.

It did, but she said that didn't matter so 🤷🏼*♀️

I’m sorry you went through such a horrible experience.