Women who have run a San Jose market for more than a decade are left shaken after disturbing surveillance footage showed two suspects hitting and pushing them.
The owner said the incident occurred on Wednesday when the suspects tried to steal beer.
Phuong Ton has owned Smile Market on North 4th Street in San Jose for 16 years, but she said she’s never experienced anything like this.
He said his sister was working the register when a man and woman tried to pay for the beers.
But his sister realized the man was hiding a second beer.
“We have cameras here, we can see him putting it in his pants,” Ton said.
Her brother confronted them and that’s when things turned violent.
The video shows a beer can tucked into the man’s pants, and Ton’s sister pulling up his shirt.
He pushed her to the ground and before she could get back up, the woman threw a punch and pulled her hair.
At the same time, Ton was outside going to the market.
“My little sister came out and said ‘they hit me, they hit me!’ And I stopped them. That’s why you see me holding the stroller, I want to talk, ‘why did you hit my little sister?’” said Ton.
The video then shows the two sisters outside and Ton’s hair being pulled as she is pushed to the ground.
“That has never happened in my life, first time in my life,” Ton said.
San Jose police said the suspects fled before officers arrived.
Meanwhile Ton returned to work on Monday.
“Customers ask me, ‘are you okay?’,” he said. “Yes, I love my customers.”
Many of them have seen the video. Ton’s daughter-in-law, Kathleen, uploaded it on social media and so far, the video has been viewed tens of thousands of times.
“It’s very hard to see your in-laws hurt, it could be anyone, your loved ones and your friends, it could have been worse, thankfully it wasn’t,” Kathleen said.
The owner said she and her sister went to the hospital and are doing better now, but of course they are still in shock.
The police are investigating.
