Posted on 03/23/2012 3:30:27 PM PDT by marktwain
A man walked into Spike N' Mike's Party Store around 10:00 a.m. Thursday morning, intending to rob the place, according to the store's owner.
The suspect, identified by a relative as Robert Slanger, didn't count on a vigilant, mixed-martial arts trained customer stepping in, however.
"I look at the cashier, I kind of know him, I come in there every day. I whispered to him, I mouthed to him, 'Are you getting robbed right now?' He said, 'Yeah,' like really scared," said Zack Thome, the GVSU college student who tackled the suspect.
The store, located at the busy corner of Fulton and Diamond SE in Grand Rapids, hasn't been robbed in a decade or so, according to the owner, making the daylight robbery even more unusual.
"He (the suspect) said, 'give me the money or I'm going to shoot you. I have a gun in my pocket. I'm going to shoot you, give me the money,"' said Sunny Singh, the store's owner, translating for the clerk who the suspect threatened.
A brief tussle between the suspect and the clerk ensued, which left the would-be-robber standing at the counter, still demanding money.
Suddenly, Thome, who had been watching the entire situation develop lunged at the would-be robber and took him to the ground with a martial arts hold. The vigilante held the suspect on the ground until police arrived to make an arrest.
(Excerpt) Read more at fox17online.com ...
Great job, Zach!
Why do they label the good guy a “vigilante”?
Why not “helpful customer”?
why refer to our hero as a vigilante and not a concerned citizen or Army Veteran??
We have a “suspect” criminal and a “vigilante” hero....
Video here: http://www.fox17online.com/videogallery/68980102/News/store-customer-puts-stop-to-robbery-—3.22.12
I would add a little to your response, People who fight back reduce the robbery rate *when the papers report it* which you find more papers are reporting it. :O)
Zack is typical of the young men I met at my grandson’s basic training ceremony, they are an impressive bunch to be proud of.
The article didn't label him a vigilante, it said "a vigilant, mixed-martial arts trained customer".
vig·i·lant [vij-uh-luhnt] adjective
1. keenly watchful to detect danger; wary: a vigilant sentry.
2. ever awake and alert; sleeplessly watchful.
People who fight back sometimes get shot too.
I remember reading about a champion karate guy what had a guy grab his wallet.
The karate guy chases him down and the robber shot him dead
Terribly BAAAAAAAD vigilante! If you protect people, even without lethal force, YOU'RE A VIGILANTE!
Said the great MSM.
Amen, marktwain—and every time we, the people don't fight back, we merely encourage the predators to enlarge the scope and severity of their predations.
If that robber had tried that in my neighborhood, he'd be lucky to end up wearing hand cuffs instead of a toe tag.
This young man saw a situation where someone’s life and property were in immediate danger and he put himself in harms way to help another person and he did so in a measured, appropriate way.
Great job Zach!
I think his parents have a lot to be proud of right now :)
Last fall near me a legally armed man (notice I didn’t say victim) stabbed his attacker. Said he didn’t want to escalate the situation.
If it were me I would have given the paper something to report and said “Shootin a man is easy, I just wanted to know what it felt like to slip a knife into one.”.
The article didn't label him a vigilante, it said "a vigilant, mixed-martial arts trained customer".
The vigilante held the suspect on the ground until police arrived to make an arrest.
That's one of the hazards I guess......But in times of stress, folks attempting to do the right thing don't have negative attitudes.......
A statement that is a good example on how to handle our government.
Vigilante is not a bad word. Under the described circumstances, I'd be proud to be called a vigilante.
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