Good Samaritan dad and son go viral for protecting unlocked candy shop
It was a sweet slice of life caught on camera between a father and his 4-year-old son when Conner Smith realized a new candy store in their favorite shopping center had left its doors unlocked at night.
In surveillance video, Smith tells his son that they need to find a security guard to help lock up the business. They briefly left to find a phone number for help and returned to wait for the security guard. To pass the time, Smith read the bulk candy rules to his son, Charlie.
"My first thought was that somebody is gonna take advantage of the situation, and then what if they want to close because they lose too much inventory and they can't stay open?" Smith said. "That would bum my kids out, which would bum me out."
It was a simple but teachable moment about how to help a neighbor for little Charlie.
Uptown Candy Shop had just opened its newest location in Riverside a week ago.
"They just walked off like nothing happened," owner Donia Farraj said. "As if they didn't just save my business that night."
When Farraj found out about the father-son duo's good deed, she posted the security footage on social media.
"We wanted to properly thank them, so we posted it on TikTok to get the word out there," Farraj said. "We figured TikTok finds the bad guys really fast, so let's see how long it takes them to find the good guy."
After about a day, Farraj connected with Smith and his family, offering them complimentary treats for being a good neighbor.
"It feels surreal, like I'm living in an alternate reality," Smith said.
