When a dangerous situation arises, the most common advice we’re told is to keep out of harm’s way. After all, there are a lot of situations where we can only make things worse by trying to be a hero.
This is why store employees are generally discouraged from trying to apprehend thieves themselves, as their employers can find themselves legally liable if that employee ends up injured or worse.
But at the same time, we can sometimes find that trying to let the situation pass isn’t an option. Sometimes the only choice is to fight if we mean to protect ourselves or another life .
And although we’re about to see that one man took a big risk when he intervened in an attempted armed robbery, he quickly proved that he knew what he was doing.
RELATED STORIES
On October 20, the man we see here was standing at the counter in a Chevron station in Yuma, Arizona.
After he talked to the cashier for a moment, the door soon opened and someone dressed in a black hoodie, sunglasses and wearing a black bandana over their face entered the gas station.
From the footage, we can see that this person had two accomplices who were dressed similarly.
According to a Facebook post from the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, their apparent leader quickly pointed a handgun at the cashier as they stepped further into the store.
However, this person would soon discover that their plan brought them a little too close to the customer.
Because as soon as the weapon came within arm’s reach, the customer sprang into action.
The customer angled the gun upwards to keep the suspect from pointing it at anyone before punching the would-be robber and tackling them off-camera.
As soon as this happens, one of the accomplices can be seen scrambling to run out of the gas station while the other leaves without entering the place. With the situation defused in less than eight seconds, the customer was then able to detain the suspect until law enforcers arrived.
As a representative from the Sheriff’s Office wrote, “No injuries reported from any of the victims. This case remains under investigation.”
Deputies came into contact with the customer and asked how he was able to control the situation so effectively.
In response, he revealed that he had previously served with the United States Marine Corps, saying, “The Marine Corp taught me not to [mess] around.”
The suspect he apprehended turned out to be a minor and has since been booked into the Yuma County Juvenile Justice Center for one count of armed robbery and one count of aggravated assault. The two accomplices remain at large.
The brief yet tense video of the incident is available here .
h/t: Facebook | Yuma County Sheriff’s Office
