Clerk Fights Back During 7-Eleven Robbery Attempt
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HOLLYWOOD (CBSMiami) - A would be robber picked the wrong clerk to mess with during a cash grab attempt at 7-Eleven in Hollywood.
It happened Tuesday, Aug. 7th, just before 10:30 p.m. at the store at 1600 N Federal Highway.
Surveillance video shows the man casually standing at the counter waiting to pay for his purchases.
As the cashier opened the register, the man lunged over the counter and tried to grab handfuls of cash from the register.
The clerk, now identified as Michelle Rideout, then started hitting the man in the head as he continued to reach for the cash drawer. At one point she shoved a pay terminal screen at his head which forced him off the counter.
When he reached back over the counter again in a last ditch effort to score some cash, Rideout threw an empty change drawer at him.
The man then turned and began to leave as another employee showed up behind the counter. The man made it to the door, turned around and took a few steps toward the counter, scooping up some bills off the floor and then he left.
Back at work Thursday, clerk Michelle Rideout said it was a fearful encounter.
"I was scared. I ain't gonna lie, I was scared," she said, laughing.
She said she instinctively fought the thief as he grabbed at the cash drawer.
"I really didn't think of the money, I just thought of my life. The guy jumped over the counter, and I just hit him," the petite clerk said.
Hollywood police say oh, thank heaven the 7-Eleven clerk wasn't hurt or worse.
"Cash isn't worth your life. You should absolutely call police right away, and not try to fight the criminal," said police spokesperson Miranda Grossman.
In hindsight, would Rideout fight this kind of fight again?
"Probably not, no. I would just probably let the person take it," she said.
After the battle with the bandit, she said she realized she has a husband and a young child that she will not again risk leaving without a wife and mother.
Hollywood police released the surveillance tape from the robbery in hopes that someone recognizes the man and gives them, or Crime Stoppers, a call.
