South Bronx Store Employee Chases Down Would-Be Robber

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A store clerk in the South Bronx managed to disarm a would-be robber and chase him off down the street.

The employee, Charu Hamissou, chased the suspect and disarmed him of a gun that turned out to be fake; but he didn't know that when it was pointed at him, CBS 2's John Slattery reported.

"I think, 'I'm going to die,'" Hamissou said.

Hamissou says right after he unlocked the Black Era Clothing store on Melrose Avenue, he was followed in by the masked gunman.

"He had me right away and pointed the gun at me and he screams 'Give me the money from the register!'" Hamissou said.

The clerk put less than $100 in the robber's knapsack, Slattery reported.

The thief then reportedly demanded a pair of expensive Jordan sneakers, size 11, so the clerk went to the back to get them.

"When I went in the back to give him the sneakers, the alarm went off," Hamissou said.

The robber then ordered the alarm to be silenced, but the clerk took advantage of the disruption.

"He was in front. I punched him," Hamissou said. "He fall down and then I grabbed the gun away from him."

The thief ran from the store, dumping his mask. Hamissou, holding the gun, ran after him.

The suspect got away and when police arrived, they determined the gun was fake.

The employee told police that despite the mask, he believes the robber is a young person who cased the store a few days earlier.

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