New York, Aug 11 (PTI) No charges will be pressed against the Sikh man and his co-worker who were being probed by the US authorities for "assaulting" a suspected thief who tried to rob their convenience store, the video of which became viral.
The incident took place on July 29 at a 7-Eleven store in California's Stockton city.
"The Stockton 7-11 Store Clerks are not & have never been, suspects of the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office," District Attorney Ron Freitas said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Any Investigation going forward is to hold accountable the individual who threatened & attempted to rob them," he said.
In the viral video, a masked man is seen emptying shelves of cigarettes and other products from the store’s shelves before two employees of the shop stepped in to stop him. The clip shows one of the employees pinning the alleged thief down, while the Sikh man beats him with a stick.
Stockton police on Sunday said they were investigating the assault of the 7-Eleven robbery suspect by the two convenience store workers.
"It has been brought to our attention that a video of two 7-Eleven employees assaulting a robbery suspect has been circulating. We are aware of the incident and the investigation is ongoing," it said.
The suspected thief is believed to have robbed the store two other times within the same 24-hour period.
“The case has been assigned to our Investigations Bureau for follow-up interviews and evidence review. Once the investigations are complete the findings will be forwarded to the San Joaquin County District Attorney for review,” the police had said.