The pair was praised for taking matters into their own hands.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article suggested the incident happened in New York.
Footage of two men apprehending a cigarette thief at their shop in Stockton, California has gone viral, with many referring to them as "heroes" for refusing to let him get away with the stolen goods.
The pair were praised for taking matters into their own hands at a time when soft policies have allowed criminals to terrorize America's retailers without fear of punishment.
In the video, shot by a customer, a man sporting a dirty white t-shirt and a blue head covering can be seen behind the counter scooping armfuls of cigarettes into his garbage can-turned-shopping cart.
"Hey, why are you stealing everything?" one of the workers asked, to which the thief responded by threatening to "pull my strap on your b*tch ass."
As the thief continued to empty the shelves, the customer told the workers, "Just let him go ... Ain't nothing you can do."
He asked the workers if they had insurance, which they did not, and lamented the fact that there was nothing they could do until police arrived.
Before long, however, the workers decided to take matters into their own hands, and approached the thief. One grabbed him by the arm while the other fetched a long wooden stick.
"Don't do that!" the customer shouted as the thief was held down and struck numerous times.
The stick-wielding workers delivered several blows to the thief's torso, legs, and back, continuing even after the thief begged for mercy.
"That's called whoopin' your ass," the customer told him.
Across Twitter, the pair received kudos for their actions.
"This was so great," podcaster Jesse Kelly said. "Made my day."
"Make criminals afraid again," Taylor Silverman added.
Alex Villanueva, who served as 33rd Sheriff of LA County, said victims having to defend themselves is "another likely outcome of 'reimagining' public safety."
"When all these corrupt major-city DAs refuse to do anything to criminals, and the local governments there have made it clear they do not care about you at all," another user added, "eventually the citizens will start enforcing the laws themselves."
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