A machete-wielding clerk
Date: Sept. 25, 2013
After multiple break-ins at her deli, store owner Eleana Alvarado bought a machete as a way for store clerks to defend themselves. A month later, a masked man with a gun entered the store and demanded money.
Iraq veteran pulls gun on robber
Date: September 2013
A would-be robber picked the wrong liquor store to knock over with Jon Lewis Alexander behind the counter. Alexander, an Iraq war veteran and former prison guard, didn't hesitate to pull out his gun from under the counter to confront the robber.
Restaurant worker uses food to stop robber
Date: May 2013
After getting in an argument over his bill, a man walked behind the counter to get to the cash register. In the scuffle he attacked a restaurant employee who thought quickly to defend herself and the restaurant.
Clerk swings baseball bat to clobber robbers
Date: April 2013
With a gun in his face, a souvenir shop owner used a baseball bat to fight back against two robbers. The suspects (one had a lengthy criminal history) began shooting, but the shop owner kept swinging and was able to remain unharmed.
Hotel clerk pulls gun from her lunchbox
Date: Jan. 4, 2013
A Wyoming hotel clerk packed more than her lunch before work one morning, and two men were lucky to leave unharmed when she pulled a gun out of her lunchbox after they tried to rob the hotel.
Clerk sprays bear spray on robbers
Date: June 6, 2012
Zhen Yang, a gas station clerk, doesn't live in the wilderness, but a can of bear spray came in handy to fend off would-be robbers. When two masked men came in and demanded money, he doused them both and was able to detain one man.
Clerk uses beer to stop robber
Date: September 2012
Turns out light beer can pack a punch. Florida convenience store clerk Dilip Patel was able to defend himself and his store when a robber tried stealing money out of the cash register. Threatened with a knife, Patel hurled cans of beer at the man.
MMA fighters foil hotel robbery attempt
Date: November 2011
When a hotel clerk yelled out that he was being robbed at gunpoint, the robber couldn't have guessed who might be in the lobby. Two mixed martial arts experts just getting off the elevator ran over and wrestled the man to the ground, holding him long enough for the police to arrive.
Clerk uses pastries to stop thief
Date: November 2010
A quick-thinking clerk at this Mexican restaurant was able to stop a masked thief who was stealing money from the cash register. She screamed at the man and then hurled a bag of pastries at him before he ran away.
Clerk uses Jesus to stop robbery
Date: July 23, 2010
Instead of panicking or using a weapon, a Florida clerk had the ultimate guardian on her side. When a man walked into the cellphone store demanding money and showing a gun, the clerk talked to him about Jesus and made a connection with the man, who then left the store calmly.
