The video goes on for a long time — or at least it feels that way.
A recent recording of two employees of a Stockton, Calif. 7-Eleven beating a would-be shoplifter has been lighting up the internet.
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In the video, taken by a local business owner identified as Deda, a man with a blue scarf partially covering his face is seen dumping cigarettes and other items off of the store's shelves and into a large trash can.
"Ain't nothing you can do until the police come here," Deda says on the video.
7-11 Employees in Stockton caught on camera beating a man who attempted to steal a trash can of cigarettes.
— Madisen Keavy (@madisenkeavy) August 4, 2023
The video taken by Deda, a #Stockton man who says he tried to diffuse the situation, to protect the employees’ future and the man’s life.
Story at 10 @CBSSacramento pic.twitter.com/gjKKOxSeM7
The suspect, believed to have robbed the store twice within the same 24-hour period, reaches for his back pocket when employees challenge him.
When the suspect attempts to leave, one employee grabs him and wrestles him to the ground, while a second worker hits the man more than two dozen times with a stick.
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"Don’t do that, man, don’t do that," Deda shouts as the blows land and the suspect screams in pain.
“Are you done?" Deda asks the man when the beating stops. "Are you done? Then go!"
Police said they are investigating the incident, which took place across the street from the Stockton Police Department headquarters. Headquartered in Irving, Tex., 7-Eleven did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
The incident apparently touched a nerve at a time when shoplifting is surging and videos of thieves brazenly walking out of stores with stolen items spark outrage.
The social media response to the incident was about what you'd expect.
"Is there a way to donate to the store owner/batter?" one person tweets.
"That would be robber got exactly what he had coming to him!" another says.
“Anyone that has ever worked in retail can appreciate this video!” one person comments. “California needs more business owners like these guys!”
And one person posted a bogus "Employee of the Month" sign featuring the stick-wielding worker. Another image depicts a spurious baseball card with the employee's image marked "MVP."
— ClampyClamps (@ClampsClampy) August 7, 2023
There's no doubt that shoplifting is on the rise.
Stores lost an estimated $86.6 billion to retail theft in 2022, according to the National Retail Federation, and projections indicate that in 2025, retail theft may cost stores over $115 billion.
'We got to do better.'
Retailers lost as much as $94.5 billion in gross revenue to theft in 2021, up 4.07% year-over-year.
Several large retailers, including Walmart (WMT) -) and Target (TGT) -) have closed stores in response to rampant shoplifting.
Walgreens (WBA) -) recently launched a prototype store that changes the shopping experience in order to eliminate theft, offering only two aisles of "essentials" that shoppers can put into their carts.
Stores and law enforcement officials say employees should not attempt to stop a shoplifter due to concerns that someone may be injured or killed.
But there have been incidents where retail employees have confronted shoplifters
Last year, the owner of a smoke shop in Las Vegas grabbed a knife and stabbed one of the two people who tried to rob his business. The owner told Fox 5 Vegas that he planned to get a gun.
An incident earlier this year in South Carolina took a tragic turn when a 14-year-old was fatally shot in the back by a convenience store owner who wrongly accused him of shoplifting. The owner was arrested and charged with murder.
There are plenty of opinions on what should be done to combat rampant theft. Deda, who took the Stockton 7-Eleven footage, had some ideas of his own.
"The people need to step up and be better," he told CBS News Sacramento. "We gotta love each other. We got to do better."
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