Tacoma Clerk Fights Off Man Armed With Makeshift Weapon

Posted: 4:43 pm PDT May 27, 2009Updated: 6:07 pm PDT May 27, 2009
TACOMA, Wash. -- A Tacoma convenience store clerk disarms a robber who tries to hold up his store using a stick with nails driven into it.

A man walked into a Chevron Food Mart in Tacoma early Tuesday morning, armed with a stick with a nail driven through it along with a bag that he wanted filled with money. The video shows the man approaching the clerk.



The clerk fights back, pushing the would-be robber, slamming an elbow into his nose and then taking the stick from him. The clerk threatens the man with his own stick and manages to hit him at least once before he bolts out the door.

“As the suspect runs out of the store, the clerk uses the stick on the suspect, the suspect last seen fleeing down the street from the store,” said Officer Mark Fulghum of the Tacoma Police Department.

The clerk continued to chase the man, but he was not caught. His injuries aren't officially known, but the clerk said the man's nose may be broken because he was bleeding from it when he ran away.

Police are still looking for the would-be robber.

“We don't have any idea who he is. We're hoping someone out there will see the video, recognize him and give either us or CrimeStoppers a call,” Fulghum said.

Police said the clerk received a minor injury to his hand and needed a tetanus shot because he scraped it on a nail in the stick.