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Odd Job · September 23, 2006, 07:27 AM

Okay here is what happened next:

The robber made a run for it, up the escalator. He was moving at a good pace.

I gave chase, yelling for him to stop, gun still drawn. I was in quite good shape because I didn't have a car and had to walk or cycle everywhere and I also played squash at least three times a week. But this guy could run and he ran flat out up the escalator and out onto street level, knife still in hand. I chased him down two city blocks and people were scattering on either side of us. I was gaining on him and the more I ran the more annoyed I got. We made a left and ran another city block and then he got to a corner just as a double-decker bus was coming around and he knew he couldn't get around before I closed the distance. So he spun around on the corner, lifted the knife up and prepared to stab me.
At that point I stopped really fast, a few paces from him and aimed the gun at his face. It was quite ridiculous because all I could think of saying to him was 'No.'
Just that one word.

There were people milling around across the road and there were people in the bus behind the robber. I was definitely in the minority, demographically.
Here is what he did: he cocked his head to the side to see if he could make out whether the safety catch was engaged or not. He couldn't make that out. He then looked where my feet were and then looked into my eyes for a few seconds. I think he appreciated at that point that this was a small gun, but I was likely to shoot. I had pressure on the trigger so that the knuckle of my index finger was white. Only after he had considered all these things did he comply.
He put the knife down and another security guard arrived soon after that and took him back to the store.
The female security guard: fortunately the robber had over-stabbed and the blade had gone behind her right shoulder. The force of the blow on the root of her neck is what knocked her senseless. She was okay.
The guy who came off the worst was the male security guard, although I don't doubt they gave that robber a good kicking before the police came for him.

September 23, 2006, 07:27 AM	#4
Odd Job Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2006 Location: London (ex SA) Posts: 476	Okay here is what happened next: The robber made a run for it, up the escalator. He was moving at a good pace. I gave chase, yelling for him to stop, gun still drawn. I was in quite good shape because I didn't have a car and had to walk or cycle everywhere and I also played squash at least three times a week. But this guy could run and he ran flat out up the escalator and out onto street level, knife still in hand. I chased him down two city blocks and people were scattering on either side of us. I was gaining on him and the more I ran the more annoyed I got. We made a left and ran another city block and then he got to a corner just as a double-decker bus was coming around and he knew he couldn't get around before I closed the distance. So he spun around on the corner, lifted the knife up and prepared to stab me. At that point I stopped really fast, a few paces from him and aimed the gun at his face. It was quite ridiculous because all I could think of saying to him was 'No.' Just that one word. There were people milling around across the road and there were people in the bus behind the robber. I was definitely in the minority, demographically. Here is what he did: he cocked his head to the side to see if he could make out whether the safety catch was engaged or not. He couldn't make that out. He then looked where my feet were and then looked into my eyes for a few seconds. I think he appreciated at that point that this was a small gun, but I was likely to shoot. I had pressure on the trigger so that the knuckle of my index finger was white. Only after he had considered all these things did he comply. He put the knife down and another security guard arrived soon after that and took him back to the store. The female security guard: fortunately the robber had over-stabbed and the blade had gone behind her right shoulder. The force of the blow on the root of her neck is what knocked her senseless. She was okay. The guy who came off the worst was the male security guard, although I don't doubt they gave that robber a good kicking before the police came for him. Last edited by Odd Job; September 23, 2006 at 08:01 AM.