A heartwarming moment went viral after a Southern California father-son duo, Conner Smith and his 4-year-old son Charlie, came across a candy shop front door left wide open at night.
According to surveillance video, the pair passed by the new shop at a local shopping center, noticed the unsecured entrance, and stopped to investigate. The footage shows Smith, a former pastor, telling Charlie that they should wait and see if someone comes to lock the door. He then tells his son they’ll find a security guard or call someone for help, which they did. As the clip shows, Smith and his son waited until a security guard arrived to alert the owner and secure the premises.
They earned complimentary sweets
Uptown Candy Store in Upland, CA was sent a Guardian Angel Tuesday night instead of having their store ransacked when an employee accidentally forgot to lock up the front door.
— Christy
Pastor C Smith noticed the door slightly open and called security waiting at the storefront with his… pic.twitter.com/cmmAk7WYmg(@Christy4Change) October 23, 2025
According to CBS News, Smith later reflected: “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.”
The store in question, Uptown Candy Shop, had just opened its Riverside location, and the unlocked door shocked the owner. Once alerted to the unlocked door, the owner posted the surveillance video on social media, thanking them for watching over the store until help arrived. She later invited the pair back to her shop, promising to treat them to complimentary sweets as a heartfelt thank-you for their honesty and help. Or as one social media comment noted, “Free candy for life.”
