Liberty Gratz works at the Publix grocery store in Midlothian, Virginia. Because Gratz is deaf and has peripheral blindness, she carries a pen and paper to communicate with customers who need help finding things. On Thursday she was kneeling in front of a lower shelf when a customer approached with a question. Gratz didn't hear or see the woman, which the customer perceived as rudeness. So she hauled off and punched Gratz in the back.

“All of a sudden, I felt some woman hit me in my back,” Gratz told WRIC, with her mother interpreting.

The young Publix employee is deaf, and uses a notepad to communicate with customers. But when she could not hear a woman asking where to find an item in the store, she says the woman punched her. https://t.co/vgCrMrYbtq pic.twitter.com/f9owLrNgNM — WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) April 24, 2018

Yup. Instead of storming off to find the manager, this woman escalated the situation straight to, "I'm going to whup this young lady in public to get what I want."

The customer's attack shocked people:

How awful! — Gretchen Fahringer (@GretchenSoph) April 25, 2018

#Publix needs to make the video public so that the ppl can view it & see who that damn woman is & send her to jail & make her pay! I’m sure she must have told someone & that someone needs to turn her in!!! Show us the video @publix — ?Lulu? (@lulu_d12) April 25, 2018

What is wrong with people these days? Omg. — Natasha Facey (@FaceyNatasha) April 25, 2018

How sad people aren't more tolerant to other people's handicaps. All she had to do was touch her on the shoulder not hit her. — Pamela Rogers (@Pamela_Rogers59) April 24, 2018

If you think a store employee is purposely ignoring you… you ask for the store manager and file a complaint.

You don't punch them, like a total dumbass.https://t.co/IZA0R3WfWI — Sean The [former] Producer [of "The Lone Shark"] (@SeanTheProducr) April 25, 2018

But here's where things get really crazy. Gratz, though in pain and disoriented, showed a supernatural grace and helped her attacker anyway. And rather than press charges or have the woman banned from the store, Gratz wants only to talk to her mystery assailant to find out why she reacted like that, and to help her get past that kind of aggression.

Liberty might be an actual angel.

"I know hurt people usually are the ones that hurt people. And so whoever it is, they've been prayed for. I will continue to pray for them, and I hope that things get better in their life so they can be better to other people," Gratz's mother told KETV.

Not surprisingly, Gratz's generosity stunned a lot of people:

The poor girl still helped the customer after all of this too. And she didn't even recieve an apology!! — *hyaa* (@MistyStarmie) April 26, 2018

There’s a bright side – this young lady’s attitude is amazing and an example for all of us. It was a despicable act, but it introduced to a remarkable person. — Chip Tatum (@ChipTatum78) April 26, 2018

God bless this girl. All I can say to her is I am sorry, there are just stupid people in this world. You handled it with dignity and grace. — Tim Prehn (@OlivemanT) April 26, 2018

She really did. She even helped the lady after she punched her! Incredible grace. — Amy Kaufeldt (@Fox35Amy) April 26, 2018

So while the rest of us call for some sort of justice, Gratz has chosen to set an example — and she's drawing attention to disability-rights advocates like EARN in the process. We could all probably take a cue and err on the side of kindness and compassion.

H/T: WSVN 7 News