Los Angeles jewelry store employees beat would-be thief: video

It took 24-carat chops to dissuade this jewel thief.

Employees at a Los Angeles County jewelry store pounced on a robber with such ferocity Saturday that the would-be crook sprinted away in terror, startling video shows.

The attempted broad-daylight robbery happened around 2:12 p.m. at Meza’s Jewelry in El Monte, police told KABC.

“Me, my uncle and my dad were tugging him out,” an employee, who didn’t want to be identified, told the outlet about the dramatic caught-on-video brawl.

In the footage, workers are seen punching, kicking, and even using a stick to beat the robber before ripping his shirt off as he slips back out the door and tears off down the street with his pants falling down.

“I was trying to defend my family because as you could see he was hitting my dad and my uncle,” the employee said of the fight.

Two people from inside the store tried to follow the man down the road before he disappeared, the footage shows.

The startling incident began when the individual entered the store armed with a hammer and smashed a display case, one of the witnesses said.

The man also used pepper spray on the workers, who run a family business, police told KABC.

Several employees were treated for minor injuries, they added.

As of Sunday afternoon, the suspect – who has not been named publicly – remains at large.

The El Monte Police Department could not be immediately reached for a comment.

The attempted robbery at Meza’s is the latest in a troubling spate of smash-and-grabs throughout southern California.

Just last week, a mob of masked thieves tore through a Sherman Oaks Macy’s in a broad-daylight heist that left regular shoppers stunned.

The group – described as all in their 20s – brazenly filled large bags with merchandise before fleeing in two cars.