Watch moment Twitch streamer Esfand helps ‘shoplifter’ flee store on live stream
THIS is the moment a Twitch streamer unknowingly helped an alleged shoplifter escape during a live stream.
Popular social media star Esfand, 31, inadvertently become involved in the apparent heist after his kindness backfired.
He was in the midst of a six-hour live stream while documenting his trip to San Francisco as he attended the 2023 Game Developers Conference.
The gamer, who boasts 1.2million Twitch followers, had decided to wander around the nearby Westfield San Francisco Center.
Esfand was heading for the exit in the mall when he accidentally aided an alleged thief who was fleeing the building with guards hot on his heels.
In the footage, the Texas-born streamer can be seen walking through large wooden doors when he realises another shopper is close behind.
He politely waited for the bloke – who appears to be holding an iPad and a large bag – to catch up and held the door open for him.
The man strides through while the two security guards following him pause for a brief discussion about their next move – while Esfand awkwardly continues to cling to the door.
The pair, sporting yellow and black jackets, then race after the suspected shoplifter while shouting and pointing at him.
A voice can then be heard yelling: “Get him! He just stole a whole computer.”
The penny slowly seemed to drop for a baffled Esfand, who continued the stream as the drama unfolded.
He says: “Oh fr*ck, did I just pull an Uncle Ben and hold a door open for a thief? Oh my gosh.”
The Twitch star was seemingly referencing a scene from the 2002 Spider-Man movie, where Peter Parker lets a thief run past him into an elevator – who later kills his uncle.
Although there were no fatal consequences in this scenario, it remains unclear if the security guards managed to catch up with the man.
Fans of Esfand who tuned into the live stream were left in stitches at his blunder, with some joking he was complicit in the crime.
Others were quick to remind him that no good deed goes unpunished in the comment section.
One said: “Who waits that long for someone to get to the door?”
Another wrote: “Probably saw the guy had his hands full and tried to be helpful.”
A third said: “He also held the door open for the security so it cancels out.”
A fourth laughed: “That Uncle Ben analogy was impressive.”
And a fifth added: “That’s why you don’t hold the damned door!”
Esfand later thanked his followers for watching his content, describing it as a “hell of a stream.”
He also replied to a tweet discussing his accidental aiding and abetting with a meme of Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire sobbing.