If you’re a store owner trying to deal with losses from theft, what can you do? You can respond with gunpowder and lead, as has happened, for example, in Florida with furious store owners.
But that carries the risk of ending up like Kyle Rittenhouse or George Zimmerman, prosecuted for dealing harshly with a lawbreaker…even if you’re found innocent, it’s at best a costly headache and at worst a life-ruining event. So some store owners don’t want to deal with things that way, particularly in blue states where the government is far more hostile than friendly to gun owners, particularly gun owners that use those firearms for self-defense.
So what’s another, less legally dangerous solution? Keep the criminal locked inside the store until he or she pays for what he or she attempted to steal. That was the strategy of one fed-up store owner in New York City, as the awesome “Libs of TikTok” account called attention to with a recent post, saying:
“NYC shop owner takes matters into his own hands, blocks shoplifter and forces her to pay. This is the way”
Watch the incident here:
NYC shop owner takes matters into his own hands, blocks shoplifter and forces her to pay. This is the way pic.twitter.com/J0Zk4eXWi1
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 25, 2022
Louder with Crowder, commenting on the epic incident, said:
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If you’re a store owner living in The Purge our progressive cities have turned into, I can see how the holidays can stressful. You are trying to provide for your family. People are stealing because why work hard when you can simply take stuff? This store owner came across one criminal too many. He and a coworker locked the door until the woman either paid for what she was attempting to steal or put it back.
“Locked the door” might be the wrong word. He barricaded it!
The best part was when she attempted to hand back what she was stealing, he was all like, “Nope, put that back where it came from your damn self.”
The comments on Twitter quickly got contentious and turned into a fight about race and crime, showing the inflamed tensions the constant theft is causing. Here are some of the top ones from the Libs of TikTok video (note: these comments are meant to reflect what people online are saying, not the truth of the matter or a statement of fact about crime rates)
“The owner would have never dared stop the thief if he had been white. That’s the sad state of the US under KKK’s rule.”
“Why most shoplifters are blacks ?”
“Cant play the race card against us Indians.”
“Why is it that in literally every one of these type of videos the perp always looks the same? Why is it that our “Conservative/Republican” leaders don’t have the balls to say it?”
“That shop owner is going to get charged for racism for not letting a black person steal his stuff.”
“I myself is black and I hate seeing other black ppl steal making us look bad. She got decent clothes but still trying to steal”
“It shouldn’t have to be the way…. If you teach people, morals and values, they won’t act this way. It all starts with parenting…..”
“Has anyone noticed a demographic that tends to shoplift? 👀”
“I thought they only steal from the big luxury stores. I didn’t know they now target small family-owned local businesses too.”
Featured image credit: Screenshot from embedded Libs of TikTok video