Emily Brown
Two staff members at a 7-Eleven in California took justice into their own hands when a man tried to steal a trash can full of cigarettes from right under their noses.
A witness named Deda had just stopped at the 7-Eleven on the corner of Center and Market streets in Stockton, CA when the incident unfolded on Saturday (29 July), prompting Deda to get out his phone and start recording.
Deda had just gone to the register to pay for his gas and a Red Bull when a masked man walked straight behind the counter and began dumping packets of cigarettes into the large trash can.
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Deda told CBS News he 'wasn't afraid', and decided to start filming the scene to capture what was going on.
"It was more like, look, I gotta make it home. If I'm here, he's here, they're here…" he said.
The customer warned staff at the store against escalating the scene into violence, as the would-be robber wasn't wielding a weapon.
As the man attempted to move from behind the counter, he tried to get by one of the workers and a scuffle ensued. The second 7-Eleven worker grabbed a stick and started beating the suspect over and over.
The employees told Deda the man had tried to do the same thing three times before.
"25-26 hits…" Deda said. "I was quiet at a point because I couldn't believe it was happening, then next thing I know, yo, this is getting too much, this is excessive."
Deda asked the employees if they'd called the police, which they hadn't, before saying: "Don't do that. Don't do that. Don't do that," as the attempted robber was reduced to tears.
After he got up off the ground, Deda walked the man outside - but before he left completely, the suspect asked Deda if he could get a soda.
Deda, unsurprisingly, declined his request.
The witness' videos of the incident have received thousands of likes and views since he shared them online.
The whole ordeal unfolded directly across the street from the Stockton Police Department Headquarters. After news of the events reached officers there, the department launched an investigation into the incident.
The investigation is undergoing, and it's currently unclear whether anyone will faces charges.
In a Justice Department report regarding 7-Eleven employee policies relating to someone who is shoplifting, policies say: "Employees are trained to handle robberies as calmly and quickly as they would any other transaction."
UNILAD has contacted 7-Eleven for comment.