NEW YORK: A video of a Sikh store owner fighting off an armed thief attempting to steal a huge can full of cigarettes from his store is going viral on social media. The incident took place at a grocery store owned by a Sikh youth in California.

The video shows the thief, whose face was covered with a blue cloth, searching the shelves of the stores and tossing tobacco products into a large waste bin. The person recording the video can be heard telling the store owner, "Just let him go. There ain’t nothing you can do. They’re not going to do nothing." The thief was also seen threatening the store employees by taking a knife from his pocket.

As the thief tried to walk out of the store, a store employee suddenly grabbed his arms. The store owner, a Sikh man, then took a wooden stick and continuously thrashed the thief with a stick.

With the video going viral on social media, several people came out lavishing praises on the store owner and his employee for acting swiftly to stop the robber. Many even hailed the store owner as 'superhero wearing a turban.'

Sikh grocery store owner was told that "there ain't nothing you can do" repeatedly and that "ayy, just let him go" as they were being robbed. The Sikhs disagreed. pic.twitter.com/ZIb5CVLMNl

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 2, 2023