WATCH: Alleged Shoplifting Becomes Food Fight in San Francisco

A recent incident at a Walgreens in San Francisco recorded workers standing helpless while someone apparently dumped items into a bag.

“We have this person that is taking everything from the counter,” an employee explained to a person on the phone, ABC 7 News reported Thursday.

Reporter Dion Lim shared video footage of the incident, showing a man wearing a black coat bent over near the employee. Moments later, he stood up and a cream colored bag was seen hanging from his arm.

Before the clip ended, the man appeared to grab more items off the nearby shelves:

It started w/the man stealing in beauty section then behind the counter putting things in a bag. Employee calls for help.

That other customer starts recording & suspect slaps his phone away, taking his mask down w/it.

That’s when the banana fight begins. (2/3) #SanFrancisco pic.twitter.com/9R2eYdH9h8

— Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) March 4, 2022

In another clip, the man walked around the counter and was approached by a customer. The man then grabbed some bananas from a basket and threw them at the customer before turning to leave.

A bystander was heard saying, “Hey! No no no!” as the customer appeared to retrieve a banana from the floor and hurl it at the man’s back:

: “’ !”
⠀
Video taken by @nicholastennan shows a man stealing f/behind the counter & flinging fruit at a customer at the Outer Richmond location Tues.

(1/3) pic.twitter.com/7SOjrmMnNp

— Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) March 4, 2022

However, the man then turned around, reportedly grabbed a handful of Chips Ahoy cookies, and lobbed them at the customer before exiting the building.

Walgreens stores across the nation have become the victims of shoplifting amid brazen retail theft, causing workers to lock up some items in an effort to curb the problem, the National Desk reported Friday:

Critics have argued lax prosecutorial standards and policies have emboldened criminals, particularly shoplifters, across the nation. In California, theft of commercial merchandise under $950 is only a misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of six months in jail, thanks to the controversial Proposition 47.

In October, Walgreens closed five additional San Francisco locations as law enforcement failed to remedy the ongoing problem.

According to Jim Rita, a former officer from California serving as president of SRS Protection, said working in security in the state is not an easy feat.

“There are several states we work in where security officer are allowed to do their jobs. In the good old days we could put them in cuffs take them in the back and call the cops. The store would prosecute,” he told ABC 7.