Store Clerk Fights Back Against Robber
Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 12:16 pm
http://www.nbc5i.com/news/4250495/detail.html
"Store Clerk Fights Back Against Robber
Clerk Thankful Gun Jams During Struggle
POSTED: 11:25 am CST March 3, 2005
UPDATED: 11:36 am CST March 3, 2005
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas -- A North Texas store manager refused to become a victim when a robber jumped over the counter at his convenience store and attempted to rob him.
The store clerk, Ahmed Qasem, fought back and managed to restrain the robber until police arrived.
The attempted robbery happened in the 2300 block of west Main in Grand Prairie. Qasem said his survival instincts kicked in and allowed him to gain the upper hand over the robber.
Qasem said the man picked up two quarts of beer and asked for some cigarettes. The man then darted around the counter and put Qasem in a choke hold.
"He said, 'Do you want to die?' I said, 'No, I don't want to die,'" Qasem said.
With the crook's arm tight around his throat, Qasem then reached for his gun that was kept under the counter. He aimed at the robber and fired, but nothing happened. Qasem then used the gun to repeatedly hit the robber in the head.
"I felt that was my opportunity to just keep hitting him, take him all the way down," Qasem said.
Qasem then reached for the store's panic button and his phone. He called 911 and police arrived shortly after to arrest the robber.
Police arrested 35-year-old Charles Blakeley, charged him with robbery and transported him to a local hospital to be treated for cuts to his face and head.
Safe at home, Qasem recalled the struggle to NBC 5's Kristi Nelson. He told Nelson that he can't believe he fought off the bigger man.
"I guess that moment when he said 'do you wanna die', I kind of felt I was going to die. I wasn't going down by myself," Qasem said.
Qasem added that he hopes Blakeley is able to get his life together and that he is thankful his gun jammed when he tried to shoot.
"It's not easy to take somebody's life. And, it's not something that I want to live with," Qasem said."
"Store Clerk Fights Back Against Robber
Clerk Thankful Gun Jams During Struggle
POSTED: 11:25 am CST March 3, 2005
UPDATED: 11:36 am CST March 3, 2005
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas -- A North Texas store manager refused to become a victim when a robber jumped over the counter at his convenience store and attempted to rob him.
The store clerk, Ahmed Qasem, fought back and managed to restrain the robber until police arrived.
The attempted robbery happened in the 2300 block of west Main in Grand Prairie. Qasem said his survival instincts kicked in and allowed him to gain the upper hand over the robber.
Qasem said the man picked up two quarts of beer and asked for some cigarettes. The man then darted around the counter and put Qasem in a choke hold.
"He said, 'Do you want to die?' I said, 'No, I don't want to die,'" Qasem said.
With the crook's arm tight around his throat, Qasem then reached for his gun that was kept under the counter. He aimed at the robber and fired, but nothing happened. Qasem then used the gun to repeatedly hit the robber in the head.
"I felt that was my opportunity to just keep hitting him, take him all the way down," Qasem said.
Qasem then reached for the store's panic button and his phone. He called 911 and police arrived shortly after to arrest the robber.
Police arrested 35-year-old Charles Blakeley, charged him with robbery and transported him to a local hospital to be treated for cuts to his face and head.
Safe at home, Qasem recalled the struggle to NBC 5's Kristi Nelson. He told Nelson that he can't believe he fought off the bigger man.
"I guess that moment when he said 'do you wanna die', I kind of felt I was going to die. I wasn't going down by myself," Qasem said.
Qasem added that he hopes Blakeley is able to get his life together and that he is thankful his gun jammed when he tried to shoot.
"It's not easy to take somebody's life. And, it's not something that I want to live with," Qasem said."