N.B. storeowner hit in head with bottle while trying to stop shoplifter

A New Brunswick storeowner got hit with a bottle when he tried to stop a shoplifter.

Irishtown Grocery director Luo-Ping Zhao didn’t think twice when a customer entered his store and gave him a friendly greeting Tuesday morning, but moments later the entire interaction took a turn for the worst.

The customer ran out of the New Brunswick grocery, gas and liquor store with an arm full of liquor bottles and Zhao was close behind him.

“I didn’t think anything because I saw him run so I just started running with him,” said Zhao.

Once in the parking lot, security footage shows the man slip and fall while trying to get into the passenger side of a vehicle. Zhao caught up to him, but the thief hit the director on his head to get away.

Despite a large bump on the back of his head where the bottle made impact, Zhao says he was medically cleared by paramedics on the scene. The RCMP attended the scene to do a full report.

In total, he says the man took seven bottles of liquor from the store and while Zhao managed to retrieve one that was dropped in the parking lot, it still amounted to a loss of about $200.

“It’s happened every week,” he said. “Not like this much, but it’s always somebody who put it in their jacket. You can see the pictures we post on the window, it’s all the people stealing liquor.”

Zhao has been director of the store since 2016 and says theft is an ongoing issue for multiple items, not just booze.

“I put all my bottles more than $40 behind the cash because they’re stealing. Some customers asked us to hire some people to watch here, but it’s very hard. It’s very hard to hire someone just to watch the bottles,” he said.

Security cameras are also in place throughout the store to curb shoplifting.

CTV News reached out to the Caledonia RCMP Department for more information about the incident, but didn’t hear back by deadline on Tuesday. On the RCMP website, police say people should not confront suspects, which is something Zhao does agree with.

“I’d think more, I’d think, ‘I’m not following him,’” he said. “Next time maybe I’ll just call the police because I don’t want to hurt my head again.”

Despite the frequent thefts, Zhao says he wouldn’t consider closing the store because he loves being a part of the community and serving those around him.

“They need us in a way and I need them, too,” he said.

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