TOLEDO, Ohio – When a 7-Eleven owner was told there was a shoplifter in the store, the man could have immediately called the police and had the suspect arrested.
But instead, when Jitendra Singh saw the security video and noticed the shoplifter was a young teen, he confronted him before notifying the authorities.
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After demanding the boy empty his pockets, Singh asked why he had been stealing from the store. The teen said he and his brother were hungry and needed the food.
"I said, 'Well that's not food. You're stealing gum and candies. That's just something for munching,'" Singh told CNN. "I said, 'If you're hungry, ask me. I'll give you food.'"
Singh hung up on the 911 operator that was called and gave the boy food for him and his brother.
"When he said, 'I'm hungry and that's why I'm stealing,' I said OK, he has some genuine problem. He's not a thief who's going and stealing stuff and selling it," Singh said.
Singh wanted to make sure the boy's life continued on the right path.
"At least (he) won't go to jail," Singh said. "Once you go to jail, you'll have a criminal record later in life. You're not going to be able to get any good job or anything."