SEE IT: New Zealand food store owner ignores armed burglar, continues to serve customers with a smile — ‘I took away his power’
Thank you, don’t come again.
A clerk at a takeout restaurant saved his store from being robbed by simply ignoring an armed burglar.
Said Ahmed, of Christchurch, New Zealand, was working alone when a gun-toting robber entered his store hoping to fill his empty backpack with cash.
But the masked gunslinger’s burglary bid totally flopped — it was business as usual for the store owner, who continued to prepare a chicken dish and serve a customer his food with a smile, while the bewildered perp stood by empty handed.
Said Ahmed continued about his business as the masked gunman stood by completely baffled.
(CANTERBURY POLICE/FACEBOOK)
“The robber was very confused by my behavior. He wanted to scare me but I wasn’t scared, so I took away his power,” the Egyptian-nativetold the Guardian.
“I turned my back on the robber and walked to the kitchen to call the police. I told myself, ‘If he shoots me at least my body will be further away, and the gunshot won’t be as serious as shooting me at close range in my heart or my head,” he said.
A 26-second video of the incident, which was released by the Canterbury Police Department on Facebook in a bid to identify the cowardly criminal, has been viewed over 100,000 times.
The bandit leaves defeated.
(CANTERBURY POLICE/FACEBOOK)
The store owner, who emigrated to New Zealand from Egypt over 20 years ago, said his calm reaction was in part to do with the years of violence he witnessed in his home country.
“My heart was beating quickly, I was scared, but I wasn’t going to show him that. That is why my nature is cool. I have been 20 years here and never seen any fighting. In Egypt, it happens every day but in New Zealand, I am calm because it is a safe country,” he said.
Canterbury police are continuing to search for the suspect.
Thank you, don’t come again.
A clerk at a takeout restaurant saved his store from being robbed by simply ignoring an armed burglar.
Said Ahmed, of Christchurch, New Zealand, was working alone when a gun-toting robber entered his store hoping to fill his empty backpack with cash.
But the masked gunslinger’s burglary bid totally flopped — it was business as usual for the store owner, who continued to prepare a chicken dish and serve a customer his food with a smile, while the bewildered perp stood by empty handed.
Said Ahmed continued about his business as the masked gunman stood by completely baffled.
(CANTERBURY POLICE/FACEBOOK)
“The robber was very confused by my behavior. He wanted to scare me but I wasn’t scared, so I took away his power,” the Egyptian-nativetold the Guardian.
“I turned my back on the robber and walked to the kitchen to call the police. I told myself, ‘If he shoots me at least my body will be further away, and the gunshot won’t be as serious as shooting me at close range in my heart or my head,” he said.
A 26-second video of the incident, which was released by the Canterbury Police Department on Facebook in a bid to identify the cowardly criminal, has been viewed over 100,000 times.
The bandit leaves defeated.
(CANTERBURY POLICE/FACEBOOK)
The store owner, who emigrated to New Zealand from Egypt over 20 years ago, said his calm reaction was in part to do with the years of violence he witnessed in his home country.
“My heart was beating quickly, I was scared, but I wasn’t going to show him that. That is why my nature is cool. I have been 20 years here and never seen any fighting. In Egypt, it happens every day but in New Zealand, I am calm because it is a safe country,” he said.
Canterbury police are continuing to search for the suspect.