California 7-Eleven Workers Placed Under Investigation For Assault After Defending Store From Robber

Two employees of a 7-Eleven in California are being investigated for assault by police after they defended their store from a robber who had targeted the establishment in the past.

Police Investigate 7-Eleven Employees Who Defended Store

Daily Mail reported that video went viral showing the attempted theft, which occurred on July 29 in Stockton. The footage shows the two employees using a stick to strike the robber after he entered the store with a garbage can that he began filling with tobacco products without paying for them.

The employees were familiar with the man because he had previously tried to intimidate workers at the 7-Eleven by claiming that he had a handgun.

Though the two employees have been widely praised on social media for defending their store, the Stockton Police Department has launched an investigation into them for assault.

“It has been brought to our attention that a video of two 7-Eleven employees assaulting a robbery suspect has been circulating,” police said in a statement. “We are aware of the incident and the investigation is ongoing.”

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Witness Praises ‘Courageous’ 7-Eleven Workers

Witness Louis Benton, who filmed the viral footage, had previously praised the two workers for their “courageous” actions in fighting off the robber.

“I was shocked, so that’s why I really didn’t say anything in the video,” Benton told abc10. “I really just posted it on my (Instagram) stories and then from there someone took it off my stories and it just went viral. It came to a point where it got a little excessive so I was kind of like, ‘Yo, you know, we got to chill, we got to relax.'”

“Those two workers who protected their store, they did a courageous act. I believe that if I wasn’t there that guy would probably be more hurt than he was,” he continued. “The police station is right across the street. Why is there no presence over there? The community needs to take care of each other and we need to make sure that we are morally doing the right things. We’ve got to change.”

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Stockton Police Department Investigating

The Stockton Police Department has said that it is investigating the robbery as well as what they describe as the assault.

“On July 29, 2023, at 3:05 a.m, officers responded to the area of Center St/Market St, to meet with Stockton Fire Dept who was with a male [the suspect] requesting medical aid and complained of pain to his leg and shoulder,” police said in another statement.

“The male did not know if he had been assaulted. The male was then transported to an area hospital to be treated for a complaint of pain,” they added. “At the time this was reported, Officers could not confirm if the male was a victim of an assault, or a suspect related to the series of robberies at the 7-Eleven.”

“On Thursday August 3, 2023, thanks to the diligence of a witness recording the July 29 robbery and assault, the Stockton Police Department was able to combine the investigations of the suspected robberies and suspected assault,” this statement continued.

“The case has been assigned to our Investigations Bureau for follow up interviews and evidence review,” it concluded. “Once the investigations are complete the findings will be forwarded to the San Joaquin County District Attorney for review.”

This entire situation sadly just goes to show how far our society has fallen in recent years. Unfortunately for these heroic 7-Eleven employees, they live in a liberal-run state like California, which oftentimes prioritizes helping out criminals over protecting law-abiding citizens.

We can only hope that the Stockton Police Department comes to their senses and drops this ridiculous assault investigation. The 7-Eleven employees did nothing wrong and should be held up like the heroes they are, not treated like the criminal robber who tried to infiltrate their store.