INDIANAPOLIS – An attempted robber got more than he bargained for after trying to steal from an east-side gas station.
Most of it was caught on camera. The most incredible part? The clerk isn’t pressing charges.
The clerk at the Marathon Gas Station near 38th Street and Mitthoeffer Road was alone Wednesday morning when the would-be thief entered the store, clearly not knowing the clerk had a gun.
“The clerk told me he pulled out his weapon and the robber put his hands up,” the store manager told RTV6. We allowed him to remain anonymous for safety reasons. “He was frozen for a good 5 seconds. He didn’t know what to do.”
The store manager says the suspect first used the store as a shelter from the cold, and then handed a note to the clerk demanding all the money in the register.
Surveillance video shows, rather than hand over the cash, the clerk whipped out his gun and cocked it.
The robber had a taxi waiting for his getaway out front that was never used. The clerk flagged down a nearby police officer, who came to help.
This is one instance of being armed coming in handy. But officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department say you shouldn’t resist a possibly violent criminal.
“It’s better to agree with the suspects,” IMPD Sgt. Christopher Wilburn said. “Give them material goods that they ask for, and then get a good description. But there are times that people will instinctively respond in a certain way – and they’re wired that way – so we understand that as well.”
The store manager at this particular Marathon says there is no bullet-proof glass, so carrying a gun is the protection of choice there.
“(We’re) trying to let the robbers know – don’t mess with us,” the store manager said.
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Follow Mike Pelton on Twitter: @MikePeltonrtv6
