An unarmed Marine veteran took down a gun-waving robber this week at an Arizona store, and the dramatic fight was caught on surveillance video.
It happened Wednesday morning at the Chevron on E. North Frontage Road in Yuma, and the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office reports two of the three suspects remain at large.
The identity of the retired Marine has not been revealed.
Surveillance video shows he was standing at the store’s counter around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday when two masked people walked in, and one pointed a gun in the vet’s direction.
Rather than raise his hands, the vet grabbed the masked person’s gun with one hand, and punched him with the other. The two are then seen falling to the floor as they wrestle over the gun. The other masked person scrambles out the door, where a third had started backing away from the store.
It happens in just eight seconds, and the veteran never drops his bag of groceries.
“When deputies contacted the customer, who previously served in the United States Marine Corps, and asked how he was able to take control of the situation, he stated: ‘The Marine Corp taught me not to (mess) around’,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook.
The accused robber tackled by the veteran is a juvenile and now faces charges of armed robbery and aggravated assault, officials said. The suspect’s name was not released.
“The customer acted immediately and disarmed him,” officials said. “The other two suspects fled the area when they witnessed their fellow criminal stopped. The customer was able to detain the suspect he disarmed until law enforcement arrived.”
No one was injured during the incident, officials said.
Video of the incident has been viewed more than 114,000 times in the past day and has gotten more than 3,000 comments and reactions.
“What an amazing act of courage,” one commenter wrote.
“That’s a true hero right there. Fast acting much appreciated,” another said.
Yuma is home to a Marine Corps Air Station, with a “primary mission to support aerial weapons training for the Atlantic and Pacific Fleet Marine Forces and Navy,” according to Military.com
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