Eating out is a fine way to spend quality time with family and friends, not to mention getting a good meal. But sometimes danger awaits at your favorite eatery.
Following are six times when armed restaurant employees or bystanders saved the day with their firearms.
San Antonio police said a would-be robber of a Subway restaurant was stopped by a man with a gun. Witnesses said the suspect demanded money from an employee and threatened to shoot. That’s when a man who had been waiting outside saw what was going on, entered the establishment, drew his concealed handgun and pointed it at the suspect. The miscreant then ran away without taking anything. No injuries were reported. (San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, Texas, 11/19/14)
Bill Gies, a manager at Woody’s Wharf, was getting ready to leave the bar and eatery sometime after 3 a.m. He was in the office sending an email when he noticed something on the office security monitor: a suspicious man on the patio picking up a table umbrella. Gies dialed 911 and described the man in the security footage, then told the dispatcher that he was armed. Soon thereafter, the suspect punched through the office’s glass window, unaware that Gies stood just inside with a Glock. Gies pointed the handgun at the intruder and yelled, “Freeze!” The suspect then fled the scene and reportedly remains at large. (Daily Pilot, Balboa Peninsula, Calif., 8/6/14)
A masked and armed robber entered the Wings on the Run restaurant in Greenville, S.C., and demanded money from the store’s owner. Upon witnessing the robbery, employee Antwain Motin retrieved a gun and fired at the robber, striking the criminal and causing him to flee. The thief was captured a short time later after seeking medical attention at a nearby hospital. (Fox Carolina, Greenville, S.C., 2/2/14)
A pair of masked and armed men entered the Uncle Tony’s Italian Cuisine restaurant in Vista, Calif., intent on robbing the establishment. An employee spotted the criminals, retrieved a gun and fired at the robbers, striking both and causing them to flee. The criminals were captured later in the evening after seeking medical attention at a nearby hospital. (The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego, Calif., 1/4/14)
A 36-year-old male wearing black gloves and a mask over his face entered a Dairy Queen restaurant carrying a samurai-style sword. The man approached employee Michael Wehbe, 20, unsheathed the 41-inch blade and swung it into the cash register several times. When Wehbe’s 23-year-old brother, Christian, also an employee, witnessed the man’s violent behavior on the surveillance cameras from the back of the restaurant, he immediately took action. Christian emerged from the back with his 9 mm handgun and shot the assailant twice. Police found him lying wounded just outside; he later died at the hospital. There were no other reported injuries. (Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas, Nev., 8/21/12)
A man entered a Subway restaurant in Vallejo, Calif., ordered a sandwich and then pointed a gun at the clerk and demanded money. A 25-year-old concealed-carry permit holder witnessed the robbery and confronted the criminal with his gun drawn. Not prepared for armed resistance, the robber fled the scene. (The Vallejo Times-Herald, Vallejo, Calif., 6/25/12)
