VIDEO – ‘We Fight Back’: California Shopkeepers Chase Off Suspected Thief

Workers at a jewelry store in El Monte, California, did not allow a suspected thief get what he wanted on Saturday.

According to law enforcement, the attempted robbery incident happened just after 2:00 p.m. inside Meza’s Jewelry, a family owned shop located on Main Street, ABC 7 reported.

Video footage shows one of the workers beating a man wearing dark colored clothes with a stick as debris is seen strewn all over the shop’s floor:

The suspected thief struggles to get out the door to make his escape. At one point, an older man wearing a grey shirt rips the suspected thief’s shirt off as he turns and runs from the workers.

The group chases him away from their store and the camera then pans back to the older man who appears to be trying to calm down and catch his breath as he sits near the shop’s entrance.

Police are now investigating the incident that started when the man, who was carrying a hammer, entered the building and allegedly smashed a display case, then pepper sprayed the workers.

“Me, my uncle and my dad were tugging him out. I was trying to defend my family because as you could see he was hitting my dad and my uncle,” one staff member said of the ordeal.

A photo taken inside the store shows the smashed case and glass shards littering the floor:

One nearby business owner told ABC 7 he was not surprised the family protected their store.

“We fight back,” he said of himself and his fellow shopkeepers.

A similar instance happened in August when two 7-Eleven workers in California took matters into their own hands when a man allegedly tried to steal cigarettes from their shop, Breitbart News reported.

Per the outlet:

In June, the California State Senate passed a bill that would bar employers from requiring their workers to intervene during a shoplifting incident, a problem that has increased in the state thanks to criminal justice reforms, Breitbart News reported.

However, retail associations are furious over the move because they say the bill lets potential thieves know they are allowed to steal whenever they wish.

It is also important to note that Breitbart News reported in 2015 that California’s Proposition 47 of 2014, “which changed some drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors,” coincided with increasing crime across different areas of the state.

According to the ABC 7 report, several of the employees were treated for minor injuries after fending off the suspected thief, whose whereabouts remain unknown.