Augusta, Georgia - What do you do when surveillance cameras capture a burglar in the act? Alerting the police seems to be the standard answer, but this restaurant owner took a different approach.

The employees of Diablo's Southwest Grill in Augusta experienced quite a scare at the beginning of April.

The glass entrance door had been smashed, and shards were scattered all over the place.

Owner Carl Wallace described the incident on the restaurant's Facebook page. It was certainly a nasty surprise for Wallace. After all, he had to close the store for months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Then the burglary happened on Easter weekend, of all days!

But Carl Wallace reacted differently than many in his situation would have done.

He posted pictures of the destroyed front door and the burglar, because the security camera had recorded him in the act.

Wallace wrote, "To the would be robber who is clearly struggling with life decisions or having money issues... please swing by for a job application."

He actually offered the perpetrator employment! He left his phone number and asked the man to call him, saying there would be "no police" involved.

The restaurant owner stressed that he wanted to help the burglar get back on track: "Let's sit down and talk about how we could help you and fix the road you're on."

The suspicious reader may see this as a trap, but Carl's appeal was 100% serious. In an interview with BoredPanda, he explained what led him to this decision.

At first, he felt anger and frustration, a typical reaction, but after the anger, he thought deeply about the burglar's actions. The thought of forgiveness also came to his mind because it was Easter season.

The robber had risked his life and gone home without any loot, so who knows what had made him do it?

Carl explained his job offer by saying that contacting the police would start a typical cycle.

First, jail time would inevitably follow the crime. A criminal record would then make it harder to get a job, which in turn would lead to in a life of crime to make ends meet.

The restaurant owner wanted to break the chain by making a positive change in the offender's life.

His post was extremely well-received on Facebook, with thousands of people liking it and leaving loving words. "There is so much negative in our world today, it’s so refreshing to see someone turn a negative into something positive and good!" one comment read.

Carl and his staff were overwhelmed by the positive feedback, saying they were happy to receive all the texts and calls of gratitude. However, they have yet to hear from the burglar.