Jitendra “Jay” Singh owns a 7-11 convenience store in Toledo, Ohio. Recently, an employee alerted him to a possible shoplifter while he was working in the store’s back room.
Singh took a look at the surveillance camera footage and noticed a teen walking through the store, slipping various items into his pockets. He confronted the shoplifter and told the young man to put the stolen items on the counter.
At first, the teen only set one item on the counter. Singh gave him one more chance to be honest and instructed him to fully empty his pockets. This time, he did.
The teen explained to Singh that he was stealing because he and his younger brother were hungry.
Singh told his employee, who had called 911, to hang up the phone. Next, he provided the young man with some meals, to offer more nourishment than the candy and snacks that had been in the teen’s pockets.
The store owner recognized that sending this child to the justice system would probably not help the situation, and instead provided a family in need with food. Thank you to people like Mr. Singh, who believe in helping their community any way they can.
