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PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - It was one word, painted causally on a piece of plywood, that created a frenzy at a Northwest Portland warehouse Sunday afternoon.

But police say what was taken by community members was not free.

According to the Portland Police Bureau, they responded to the corner of NW Vaughn Street and NW 25th Avenue to reports of a burglary. When they arrived, officers found people loading up trucks and trailers, or just walking away with furniture, mattresses, and other items stored inside.

Outside of the building was a piece of plywood with the word ‘free’ painted on it.

One neighbor, Susan, saw the chaos unfold as she walked by.

“I saw people bringing things out of the building,” she said. “It looked like it was a free giveaway of furniture.”

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She saw cars lined up on NW 25th Avenue waiting for their chance to grab something from inside. Police said many people thought it was a furniture liquidation sale.

Susan said she wasn’t sure what was going on. Something about the disorganization of what she was seeing didn’t sit well with her.

“If somebody really had that much furniture to give away, they’d give it to an organization who can distribute it to people who really needed it,” she said.

Police believe 51-year-old Shannon Clark painted the ‘free’ sign and also posted a note on the front door asking people to help distribute furniture to those who might need it. They arrested him and was booked on charges of burglary, theft, and aggravated theft.

However, on Monday in court, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office decided not to file any charges at this time. Prosecutors emphasized this doesn’t mean the case is dropped.

It’s still unclear to neighbors and Dan DiCicco, the lawyer for the property owner, how word got out so fast. And to so many people.

“My coworkers told me they saw a lot of people out here that were variously half-naked, like the street folks, and there were also some well-heeled people just taking away our stuff,” he said.

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DiCicco represents Carbon Group, a real estate developer. According to the company’s website, they focus on affordable multi-family housing, market-rate housing, education, mixed-use spaces, and commercial spaces.

He said the furniture that was stolen is used to model out spaces they’ve developed.

“It looked like a feeding frenzy and we were very upset,” he said. “There was a great deal of valuable property in there, it’s gone now.”

DiCicco and his company hope those who took the items, unaware that it was an illegal event, will return them.

“If you want to get in touch with us and bring it back that would be great,” he said. “It wasn’t free.”