” After the man drew his sword, the clerk attempted to stop the robbery by throwing shuriken’ or steel stars at the suspect. The clerk also managed to shoot blowdarts at the would-be robber before she called the police. Once she dialed 9-11, all she saw was a big-puff of smoke where the suspect stood second before.’
that's the problem, inadequate training
She shoulda used a Samurai Sword / Ninja-to...
or @ least a .44 S/W