Tuesday, September 5, 2023 at 11:03PM
El Monte, California — Employees at a jewelry store in El Monte, California, punched, kicked and used a stick to fight back a suspected thief and drive him away.
El Monte police said the attempted robbery occurred around 2:12 p.m. Saturday at Meza’s Jewelry on Main Street.
Video posted on social media, which has now become part of the police investigation, showed employees fighting back at the suspect before he fled.
According to employees, the incident occurred when a man broke in with a hammer and smashed a display case. He used pepper spray on the workers, who were family members, police said.
The tables turned when the family decided to take matters into their own hands.
SEE ALSO: Shocking mob-style smash-and-grab robbery at California Nordstrom store caught on camera
“Me, my uncle and my dad pulled him out,” an employee told ABC Los Angeles. korean broadcasting corporation. “I was trying to protect my family because, as you can see, he was beating my father and my uncle.”
Video shows employees punching, kicking and beating the suspect with a stick near the store entrance. The suspect opened the door and fled the scene, but not before an employee took off his shirt.
Several workers were treated for minor injuries, police said.
The suspect remains at large and police are investigating the incident.
Copyright © 2023 KABC Television, LLC. all rights reserved.
