cleveland deli clark delicatessen robbery
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The only thing that might anger a delicatessen owner more than questioning the quality of his corned beef is trying to empty his cash register. So when Cleveland deli owner Mike Makkal was faced with two masked men trying to force their way behind his counter recently, he reached for his handgun.

Makkal said one of the would-be robbers tried to get him to open the cash register. That’s when the owner said he pulled out his gun and shot at the men. The suspects ran from the store.

“I shot one shot then he got down and ran,” Makkal said, “Then the other robber went to the end of the store and asked me not to shoot him, but I put my gun in his face.”

Don’t mess with an old guy, especially one who’d already been robbed recently.

He told FOX 8 he was shaking and scared for his life when the two men tried to rob him, but even at 80-years-old he refused to back down.

Makkal also said that just two weeks ago he was the victim of another attempted robbery at gunpoint in his deli, however it involved a different suspect.

He handled that first thug pretty much the same way as the latest two.

“I found a stainless steel gun to my head,” he said.

Then, the gunman chased him around the store.

“Until he found my gun in his face,” Makkal said.

That gunman also ran from his store.

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41 COMMENTS

  1. The dems would prefer that this 80yo shop keeper settle his disagreements with his fists and harsh language.

    After all, real men just need their fists.

    • Pretty sure they’d rather he just hand over all of his money. After all, they’re clearly just a poor, misunderstood soul just starting to get their life together.

      • Agree: Democrats would demand that the shop owner hand over the money, thus doing his part to correct income inequality.

        • “…thus doing his part to correct income inequality.”

          thus doing his part to correct income inequality conditioning himself in advance of their coming confiscatory tax schemes that, like a robbery, are backed by a gun.

          FTFY.

      • After 75 unsuccessful attempts at a rap career, Dontaevious and Methaholic turned to being a ghetto Robin Hood. You know the story….rob from the rich and to hell with the rest.

        • Have you heard what has come out of Ilhan Omar’s mouth?

        • I have. She’s said nothing antisemitic, she’s justly criticized and offered an opinion of the expectation of USA to bend over backward to Israeli (not Jewish) PAC and influence. Politicians from both sides are painting her words as unpatriotic or disrespectful but they haven’t been, part and parcel of political discourse and debate. A person can criticize the political nation and leaders of Israel, condemn US support (and expected support) without demonizing Jews. Modern day political Israel is nothing short of an apartheid state that commits daily acts of violence on a captive audience. It isn’t just about Muslims vs Jews, the nation of Israel has taken land from Palestinian Christians, considers African Jews second class citizens, and continues to use disproportionate force. Their wall is not a feat to be admired or used as an example for American security. Condemning the state of Israel doesn’t make me antisemitic anymore than condemning KSA makes me anti-Muslim. America gives up far too much to both of those nations who are tyrants in their own little niche of the world. While Ilhan might not have been the most eloquent in her rhetoric she is not wrong. We’ve taken upon ourselves in the USA to put Israel on a pedestal and aren’t allowed to question our national relationship with it. We’ve bought into the mindset the America is blessed by God because we turn a blind eye to Israeli violence in the “homeland”. I’ve lived, traveled, and worked many years in the region. I don’t claim to be an expert but I do claim to have more knowledge and experience that our so called leaders that take AIPAC sponsored trips to Israel. If you really want to see the Levant you need more than a political tourist trip or a church pilgrimage to see the Church of the Nativity.

        • Part of the problem in the Middle East is the constant interference of outside parties. No nation is perfect but the west has done a bang up job dividing and partitioning the region for its own gain. I don’t have a solution but I believe part of the solution is reduced dependence on the resources of the region and less “interventions”. Lebanon is a great example of how quickly things escalated when foreign parties tried to intervene- many Marines and Americans might not have been killed had they better understood the risks and manipulation of local and regional influences/parties. Middle East politics and behaviors isn’t something most Americans can easily understand yet we have “Experts” who have book knowledge but no experience on the ground. I don’t presume anything I do or have done over there will have a lasting impact on anyone other than those I served. Unwavering support for Israel creates more problems for the USA than it does solutions and continuing to ignore the thugs in Turkish and KSA leadership, turning a blind eye to their actions and atrocities makes us as a nation complicit. Iran might be a different nation today had American politics/actions been different back in the day. What we’re doing now isn’t working, perhaps letting the people who live in the region define themselves and their politics might be a better place to start than remaining encumbered in ongoing wars over there. Dunno. I have no delusions that we’ll ever see a resolution to the problems or a lasting peace over there in any of our lifetimes.

        • Do us all a favor and go live with the diaper heads. You won’t be missed. Buh-bye!

        • “She’s said nothing antisemitic, she’s justly criticized and offered an opinion of the expectation of USA to bend over backward to Israeli (not Jewish) PAC ”

          You’re a moron. Zionism is JEWISH SELF DETERMINATION. If you are against zionism, you are against JEWS SURVIVING ANOTHER HOLOCAUST, you know, the one you and your ilk:

          say didn’t happen
          whine like a moron that it caused the euro jews to invade arab land
          want to happen again

          NOTHING good comes from the arab side of the fight to exterminate Jewish Israel.

          Because thats what ALL OPPONENTS of Israel want. Their charters call for it, their FLAG and their head diapers represent it.

          You want “outside influence” dropped? FINE, we stop ALL AID TO ALL MUSLIMS, and to Israel, and the next jihadi POS nation that attacks Israel ALL AMERICAN HANDCUFFS on Israel come off, and Israel DESTROYS the nation(s) that attacks it.

          Without outside influence, the SUEZ WOULD BE JEWISH and Tehran a glass parking lot.

          FIFTY FREAKING MUSLIM COUNTRIES.
          ONE FOR JEWS.

          And 99% of the arabs living in israel have CLAN NAMES coming from countries OUTSIDE OF Israel.

          Ilhan Omar is a incest screwing jihadi POS who belongs in GITMO.

          Israel is for the Jews. DON’T LIKE IT?

          Stop USING ALL JEWISH TECH AND MEDICINE, and call us when your kids are going blind and dying.

        • Kahlil, your comments are rubbish. I’ve lived in South Africa and been to Israel many times. You have no idea what apartheid really is if you accuse Israel of apartheid. The real apartheid is what all the Arab states are doing to the Pals. No jobs, no citizenship, they are forced to rot in camps because the Arab states won’t allow their “brothers” to find a new life. You cite Lebanon but neglect to mention that the Christian community has been driven out or butchered by Hezbollah. You place all the blame on the Jews, but don’t condemn an Arab that stabs an infant in a crib to death. What Omar is saying is echoing the propaganda of Goebbels, Hitlers right hand man, and you don’t seem to object to that. If you want peace get the Arab house in order. You’ll find Israel more than ready to give away almost everything to live in peace. Let the Israelis continue to develop the chips in computers, instant messaging, new medicines, quick-clot bandages, and all the other great contributions this tiny country has provided to the world.

        • “No jobs, no citizenship, they are forced to rot in camps because the Arab states won’t allow their “brothers” to find a new life.”

          Or flat out murdered or deported to their deaths. Not a whole hell of a lot of difference between the way Saddam treated Kuwaitis during his occupation of the country and the way the Kuwaitis treated their, pretty loyal, Palestinian population after we kicked Saddam out of Kuwait.

        • @strych9 – or how the East African Jews are treated when they come to Israel? Treated like second class rubbish. I initially was surprised by the rampant racism and prejudice that seemed so pervasive in the ME but now that seems quite tame compared to how American political discourse id developing.

        • I’ve been having issues in responding since I tried to move to a different “thread”…

          To Zalta, I agree that the Palestinian plight is more complex than Arab vs Jew, their treatment by other Arab nations is extremely deplorable and they are one pawn in the struggle within that region. I have and do call many Palestinian’s friends and have first hand observation of how they have been treated in the region. They fled during the war and expected to return but the doors were shut behind them. They are not citizens of the countries they reside in and can’t go back to their own ancestral/family land. One of my closest Palestinian friends was a former Muslim who used to be rabidly anti-Jewish. He was raised in a militant family and was from a camp in Lebanon. Now he works hand in hand with Jews and Christians (he is now a Christian himself) to promote peace and better understanding. I know of many Muslim, Christian, and secular Arabs that work to understand their Jewish cousins and hope for peace. It isn’t so much the people as much as it is the government, ruling class, foreign influence, and a long history of mistrust.

          Funny you pick Lebanon as your example since that is where I lived and was based for several years. Hezbollah is a complex example. Many Christians in Lebanon have allied with the group for various reasons, both Lebanese Protestants as well as Catholic/Orthodox. Several protestant friends and coworkers were quite supportive of Hezbollah and looked at them as a way to keep Lebanon safe, despite the fact they seem to poke the bear quite frequently. I myself have been detained at Hezbollah check points at gun point for some rather stupid reasons, so I have no affection for them, but I do see where they come from and what grievances they have…though I disagree with most of what they do and how they do it. Aside from the military wing of their group they have enormous social action and programs in the country, so they garner the support of many. My assumption of your experience/knowledge of Lebanon is biased by your time in Israel, unless your Lebanese encounters are primarily with “Christian groups” that allied with Israel during the war.

          I never placed all the blame on the Jews, you’re putting words in my mouth. Your response is like that of the politicians seeking to censor any criticism of the nation of Israel (not the people). Any criticism of Israel is deemed prejudice and hateful. You can separate the political identity of a nation from the individual person. Just like Trump or Pelosi don’t represent all Americans Netanyahu and his merry band of crooks don’t represent all of Israel, neither does the Orthodox population represent all of Israel. Through my varied timelines much of the support for Ilhan has been by ethnic and/or religiously Jewish, who are able to do what many Americans can’t do…separate the person from national politics. As a nation Israel is not going to give away anything, at the root of the nation is their religion, and root of that faith (to the best of my understanding) is a tie to the land itself. They’re not going to let that go. Your response to my comments reflects a dogma that elevates Israel over all the other nations in the region while stating criticism is unconscionable. The Arab nations need to clean house but so do the Israelis. You can’t reduce the solution to peace to something so simple.Sorry, you’re wrong.

        • Kahlil
          Simple questions:
          1) Do you recognize the right of Jews to live in a Jewish State in their ancestral homeland, Israel? Yes/No
          2) Do you recognize that you lose the “we were here first” argument because the Arabs took the land from the Jews? Sorry for you the Jews took it back in 1948 when the Arab nations tried to slaughter all the Jews and drive them into the sea. Yes/No Bonus question: explain why there is a region called Judea that the Pals claim is theirs. You know, Judea as in Jew…
          3) Do you recognize that in 1948 an equal or greater number of Jewish refugees were forced out of their homes in Arab lands and left behind far more assets than the Pals left in 1948? Yes/No
          4) Omar has accused Jews of dual loyalty. This is really ugly antisemitism. You wrote above she hasn’t said anything anti-semitic. Calling BS. Would you agree that was BS? Yes/No If you don’t declare her statement to be anti-semitic then calling BS on your claim not to hate Jews.
          Background reading: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/03/ilhan-omar-and-ugly-history-dual-loyal-trope/584185/

          If your answers are Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes then we can have a conversation about the issues in Israel. If you don’t answer yes to all four questions then I have to question if you are critical of Israel or trying to delegitimize Israel. I condemn without reservation Baruch Goldstein. South Tel Aviv is a mess and needs to be addressed. At the same time Arabs, Pals, and Ethiopians have far better civil rights than the citizens in the surrounding countries. Don’t blame Israel for Abbas’s corruption and failure to run new elections. In Israel Gays don’t get public hangings and thrown from rooftops like in Gaza. You have to condemn without reservation every terrorist attack, and there have been thousands of them.

          So what are the answers? Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes. I hope so. You sound like a reasonable person.

          PS: for all you Tavor and Desert Eagle fans, Israel brought you those as well. As well as 100% open M-16 or better carry for all 18 to 21 year olds 🙂

        • When you set your argument up to only accept “yes” as a condition to be considered a reasonable person to dialogue with then you know immediately your foundation is weak. That nice little bit about guns thrown at the end, real classy.

        • Kahlil,
          OK, try to refute the facts. Keep in mind I’ve already condemned Goldstein. Where is your acceptance of Israel’s right to exist? Where is your recognition that Arabs massacred the Jews of Hebron and stole their property in 1929? Where is your condemnation of the terror attacks against Jews, Arabs, and Christians? How do you justify Arafat’s war in 2000 as the response to being offered Judea, Samaria, and half of Jerusalem?

  2. These are the stories I love to hear about!
    He’s obviously one of the last of the tough guy generation. Todays generations are indoctrinated to piss themselves, and find a safe space to explore and process their feelings.
    Not this guy! In your face defense of himself and all his years of hard work!

      • If he’s arab, he’s the kind of arab that would KICK YOUFR STUPID ASS out of America for your support for communism and jihad.

        You’re ignorant and brainwashed.

  4. Good for the deli owner,,, too bad the thugs will probably be back on the streets before the cops get their reports done… He should have saved the police the hassle & just smoked the punks, send a message to the underground to look for another place to terrorize…🔫🔫🔫

  5. That sandwich needs a little more corned beef and brown mustard.

    I feel as old today as that 80 year-old bodega owner. On a bike last night for the first time in 10 weeks. F – me am I outta shape…

    • If I don’t keep doing the physical shit constantly it’s harder and harder to get back in the groove. in the winter, I’m doing less digging, less hay-tossing, less hammering and building and lifting, less toting, and more piddling in the shop. Every year when i jump back in to the extreme physicality of “farm” life it takes longer to get to where i was and need to be. The key for me is to never stop, never stop, never never never stop.

  6. looks like that “old man” packs .40 short and wild, guess he can handle the snappiness 😉

    alternatively, bet the crooks didn’t get the 40 they expected that day!

  7. Well now I am concerned for the good guy. Attacked twice, fired a warning shot and the bad guys are still out there. Delighted the good guy lived and kept his hard earned money but he needs to do better than one shot one miss.

    And a good deli sammich is a treasure and a treat worth protecting.

  10. The city aught to give the store keeper a medal with cluster. Not likely that they will, but they should.

  11. For those who would like to make this about Jews and Muslims, let me suggest that Mike Makkal is probably neither. Given his name, looks, accent, and the slummy rust belt location, he is much more likely Christian Arab. Think Danny Thomas and Jamie Farr. There are many Christian Arabs in the rust belt and many of them are small business owners. They were persecuted back in the old country because at least as more than one has told me, the Christians had most of the private money in the Arab countries. That’s why they left. Along with the Jewish Arabs. So instead let’s make it about a tough old guy who had a justifiable DGU. I am glad for him that he survived and he did not have to live with killing the perpetrator. I am sad for society that he missed because one less thug (or two) is not a loss.

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