A shopper pulled down his pants, pooped in the middle of the grocery store, and then opened a toilet paper pack to wipe himself off.

Photos and videos of the incident show a man defecating inside a Safeway store in San Francisco's Marina District.

The incident happened close to an aisle full of cleaning products, even though the store has restrooms for shoppers to use.

An onlooker said the 'pooper' then left the Safeway shortly after, before wandering into a nearby Starbucks.

The witness also said the 'pooper' left the store without paying for the toilet roll he opened.

The behavior disgusted fellow shoppers.

One person said:

"It's absolutely disgusting."

"I have never seen San Francisco like this. I guess it's up to the politicians."

"They say we have to take care of our community. How are we going to do this – how? If they can't, how can we?"

A local supervisor, Matt Haney, also commented on the incident, saying:

"This is a national embarrassment. It is also [in] many communities a disgusting, public health crisis."

"No one should be able to walk about and see poop smeared all over the place. No one should live in these conditions. It is not funny."

The episode highlights the growing epidemic in San Francisco of people, often homeless, openly defecating in public.

According to local authorities, they have responded to more than 25,000 feces-related complaints in 2019 alone.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the city has launched a 'poop patrol' program, which receives more than 65 calls per day to combat the crisis.

The city has also increased the frequency of power washing in troubled areas and opened more public toilets.

However, many residents believe more work needs to be done.

Doniece Sandoval, the founder of Lava Mae, which provides mobile shower stalls and toilets to homeless people around San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles, said:

"We need our streets cleaned up, so I love that they're doing the Poop Patrol."

"But there's no doubt about the fact that we need more public bathrooms. Everywhere we can, we need to make them available. For our unhoused neighbors and everyone in the city, when you need to be able to find a facility."

"It shouldn't be this massive challenge."

This Isn't the First Pooping Incident at Stores, Though

In Brooklyn, NY, a surveillance camera recently caught a woman pooping on the floor of the Bay Ridge grocery store.

Police also arrested a woman 'for pooping at least eight times in the parking lot of a sporting goods store in Massachusetts.