Clerk Pulls Machete On Armed Suspect During Robbery At Brooklyn Bodega
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) --A Brooklyn store owner tried to stop a gunman by grabbing a machete.
As CBS2's Dave Carlin reported, surveillance footage shows the worker taking matters into his own hands.
At 5 a.m. on Saturday morning a suspect entered the Stanley Convenience Store at 669 Stanley Ave, and brandished a weapon while demanding money from the store clerk Bidel Elmontiher.
Elmontiher keeps a machete under the counter.
A man with a gun can be seen on store security footage entering the store. He pulled a weapon and ordered Elmontiher to hand over cash and cigarettes.
Once the robber had the loot, the clerk decided to try and keep him from getting away. With his machete in hand he bolted for the door and hacked at a rope that's used to prop the door open.
He held the door closed with all his might.
The suspect reacted by firing a shot at the clerk. He missed the clerk, but the bullet struck a 47-year-old security guard on the other side of the street who was coming over to help.
The suspect fled the location and the victim was taken to Brookdale Hospital, treated, and released.
Elmontiher said his life flashed before his eyes as the bullet passed him.
"He shot me. Shot at my head. I felt the air," he said. "I could feel it."
David Galindez witnessed the commotion.
"He had a machete, was going to try to use it, but you can't beat anybody with a machete when they got a 9 millimeter," Galindez said.
The suspect fled on a bicycle. He has been described as a black male, 35-45-years-old, 6'3" and weighing 270-lbs. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black jeans, and white and black sneakers.
Anyone with information regarding this incident has been asked to contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.
The public can also submit information by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) and entering TIP577.
