“An upstate convenience-store owner with nerves of steel fought off a masked, shotgun-toting thief by throwing a shoe at his face and then chasing the punk out the door, cops and the victim told The Post.” Here’s how it went down . . .

“I see this guy. I’m all alone, no other customers, and he comes through the door with a mask on. And he’s got a gun pointed at me and comes right over to the counter and says, ‘Put the money in the bag! Put the money in the bag or I’ll shoot you!’ and he gives me a plastic CVS bag,” said the plucky Singh.

“I put up both hands, I say, ‘OK, OK!’ ” the married father of two said. “I think I have one 50 [dollar bill]. I got 10s and 20s, I put them in the bag. But he yells ‘I want 100s, give me the 100s! I lift up the tray with the coins and say, ‘I no have 100s.’ ”

The robber didn’t buy it.

“He comes very close then, and he tries to grab the tray himself. The quarters fell to the floor, and then the tray falls,” said Singh, a native of India who came to the United States 35 years ago.

“He’s very close, so something inside me, and maybe I’m crazy, maybe it was God, but something says ‘Grab him!’ And I grab him and he gets away. I bend down and take off my shoe, like a slipper, and I throw it at his face,” he said.

“I go for him, and he runs out the door, and I follow him outside the door. I go around the building, and he is young, in his 20s, and I am old, 59, but I hold him, but he breaks away and fires the shotgun into the ground,” said Singh, who has owned the store for 19 years.

State Police Investigator Robert Torre said by the time cops arrived, the brave businessman realized the risk he took. “He reacted in the moment. After the adrenaline wears off, you’re second-guessing it. He was visibly shaken, afraid for his life,” Torre said.

Sorry, but if I were Mr. Singh, I’d want a gun with which to shoot the shotgun-toting robber – several times – should it come to that. You?

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

23 COMMENTS

  1. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s better prepared next time. This time it an IWB pistol would have certainly saved the tax payers cash in the long run. The robber certainly left himself open enough for it. Glad he’s okay though, that’s what really matters. Definitely pushing the fine line between bravery and stupidity.

    • You say you wouldn’t be surprised, but I would be. The man appears to be a Sikh.

      And this is NY, where only criminals are allowed to be armed.

    • Be my guess that when NY politicians see this video, they will insist that all slippers be registered and when used inappropriately (as in this store video), they will be confiscated.

  3. I would want a gun, as well.

    Unfortunately for two convenience store employees in Edmonton, up here in Canada, they didn’t have that option. They were just murdered yesterday in a crime spree that ended with three lowlifes (including a 13 year old) arrested. They were both shot even though they complied with all the demands.

    “From the video evidence we have seen, it was clear neither of the victims offered any resistance to the robbers and posed no threat to them,”

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/convenience-store-robbery-deaths-edmonton-1.3371247

    The three all have long criminal records. So much for justice. So much for gun control.

    • My condolences to the victims families.

      Unfortunately, armed robbers sometimes execute their victims because they don’t want to leave any witnesses behind. In other cases armed robbers execute their victims simply for the sick, evil “thrill”.

      This is why we must be able to defend ourselves with the most effective means and methods available. To do anything less means not only ceding civilized society to ruthless violent scumbags, it actually encourages ruthless violent scumbags to attack for they know that they can attack with impunity.

      Anyone — whether a family member, neighbor, coworker, politician, or government employee — who compels us to be defenseless is in league with the ruthless violent scumbags who flourish and benefit when we are defenseless.

  4. This is proof positive that nobody needs more than one shoe with a toe thing that goes up.

    It also proves that nobody messes with a Sikh. Sikh means “Lion” in Sanskrit. Now we can see why.

  5. A lot of those corner stores are running illegal operations. Out here in Houston they sell bootleg dvd’s ( which is now a federal crime ), illegal gaming operations, and even illicit drugs. HPD thus far has been ineffectual in shutting down those operations besides arresting a few of the customers.

    • I’m not sure what u R getting at with your response so forgive me for maybe missing the point, but ah, who gives a shit if they are running bootleg DVD operations, especially compared to some asshole who would Rob the place at gunpoint? You’ll have to excuse me, I am from Washington state and we have tons of corner stores running what the feds/dea consider “illegal” operations, and guess what… violent crime is down, drunk driving is down, cancer patients, epileptics, people who have chronic pain but dont want to go down the opiate road, are coming here in droves for relief and medical treatment they can’t get in their home state without risking becoming a felon for ingesting a plant that has never killed anyone ever, the cartels are losing ground and the state is flush with new cash and when someone working in said “illegal” operation gets robbed at gunpoint, they can call the local cops for help without fear of reprisals. But everytime I watch a DVD with my family, I get the big brother announcement on my TV reminding me not to be a pirate or the fuzz is gonna lock me up for 5 years plus.

      • Yo, Jack, if you don’t obey the laws, fuck you when you call for help with people who don’t obey the laws. Take care of your own business.

  7. An attacker pointing a shotgun at me behind a cash register … makes me think that a .44 Magnum with a 6 inch barrel shooting really fast 180 grain hollowpoints would be an excellent choice. I cannot imagine too many people shrugging off 180 grains at 1500+ fps no matter where you hit them.

    • Before the naysayers chime in … yes, long guns have better “stopping power” than handguns. All that stopping power, however, isn’t any good if you don’t have adequate room to wield the long gun. And when you are standing in a space that is 3 feet wide with counters in front and behind, it is extremely awkward to whip out a long gun and get it on target. A revolver with a 6 inch barrel is obviously much more maneuverable in that situation.

      If you are constrained to a handgun and facing an attacker with a shotgun, you want as much “stopping power” as you can get. Seems to me like .44 Magnum fits the bill as the optimum handgun in that scenario — at least for those of us who cannot place head shots at will while under attack.

      Of course a large frame revolver has only 6 shots in .44 Magnum. With proper ammunition selection, however, I am pretty confident it will be sufficient in pretty much any attack that any clerk would ever face … short of a full on riot or mob attack.

  8. Not mentioned in the repost but worthwhile:
    “About two years ago, a guy came in and said the same thing, ‘Give me the money’ and pointed a pistol at me,” he said.
    But that robber took time to grab some beer from the cooler and was holding the loot and the gun in the same hand. “I saw he didn’t have a grip, so I grabbed the gun, and he ran away,” Singh said.

    Sometimes he doesn’t even need the shoe 🙂

  10. That douchebag needs a longer barrel on his shotgun. That way he can rob the store while standing in the parking lot; minimize his exposure to slipper-fire.

Comments are closed.