A Walgreens clerk in San Francisco has been jailed on charges of stabbing a fleeing shoplifter in the eye with his keys.
San Francisco police said they took Guang Yi Hong, 45, into custody on charges of assault with a deadly weapon early Wednesday following the caught-on-camera confrontation with 30-year-old shoplifting suspect Larry Whitlock.
Authorities said Mr. Whitlock stole merchandise from the Walgreens just after 4:30 a.m. Wednesday and Mr. Hong chased him out into the street.
Mr. Whitlock and the store clerk argued before Mr. Hong struck the shoplifting suspect twice, police said.
Video obtained by the San Francisco Bay Times showed the alleged shoplifter walking across the road as a Walgreens employee begins charging at him.
The shoplifter throws something at the clerk, which the clerk bats away and then lunges at the thief, the video shows. The shoplifter turns to shield himself, and the Walgreens employee jumps on his back and swings twice at the suspect.
A separate video taken by a passerby appeared to show the aftermath of the confrontation, with a man stumbling around as his left eye gushed with blood.
Authorities said Mr. Whitlock was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The suspected shoplifter was cited for petty theft and battery, police said. There was no record of Mr. Whitlock at the San Francisco jail.
Police said they seized a pair of bloody keys when they took Mr. Hong into custody.
Walgreens said in a statement that it is “aware of the incident and cooperating with the police in their investigation.”
Rampant theft in the Bay Area city became a massive problem in recent years.
Shoplifters clearing out store aisles and hordes of thieves pillaging businesses in “flash mob” robberies were commonplace during the heart of the pandemic.
Walgreens was no stranger to the trend.
In May 2021, the drug store chain told the San Francisco Board of Supervisors it had to close 17 stores in the city due to nonstop shoplifting. Walgreens told local lawmakers that thefts at its stores in San Francisco were four times its national average.
