Number 8 Craig Cope At around 3 am,
on July the 31st of 2022, a gang of robbers pulled up alongside the Norco Market & Liquor in Norco,
California. 80-year-old owner Craig Cope, who’d been running the small business for 55 years,
was the only one working inside at the time. He later remembered feeling like something was off
from looking at the security cameras because the BMW SUV hadn’t parked into the open spaces and
backed in as it approached. One man then emerged from the vehicle and was caught by CCTV entering
the store while announcing the robbery and aiming an AR-15 assault rifle at the owner. He never
discharged his weapon, however, as Cope reacted quickly and opened fire on him with a shotgun,
hitting him in the shoulder. Separate footage showed a second armed suspect preparing to
enter the store when the gunshot rang out and his accomplice came out running while
repeatedly screaming “he shot my arm off!” The four robbers, all in their 20s, fled in a panic
in the stolen SUV, with one of them nearly left behind. They were identified as Justin Johnson,
Jamar Williams and Davon Broadus but the suspect that Cope had shot remained unnamed. He was taken
to a Southern California hospital in critical condition where he was eventually stabilized.
Deputies caught up with the suspects at the medical facility and took them into custody. In
the incident’s immediate aftermath, Cope suffered a minor heart attack as a result of the ordeal.
He recovered at his Riverside home and stated an intention of returning to work as soon as
possible, while his community and employees hailed him as a hero for standing up to the robbers.
Number 7 Araceli Sotelo Subway employee Araceli Sotelo was working
alone at a franchise in Rockford, Illinois, in the fall of 2021, when a masked robber walked
in and held her at gunpoint, demanding cash. A physical altercation ensued behind the counter,
with Sotelo repeatedly shouting at the robber to stop and leave. The fight then spilled into the
dining area where the woman eventually gained the upper hand and held the robber down by his hoodie.
In the struggle, the latter dropped Sotelo’s purse as well as his gun. Sotelo picked the weapon up
and pointed it at the robber. She pistol-whipped him on the side of the head with his own gun but
he was ultimately able to flee with her purse. Leaked surveillance footage of the altercation
earned considerable attention online in the aftermath. Even though she’d fought off an armed
robber and was left afraid to go home knowing he had her information, Sotelo faced punishment at
work. On September the 9th of 2021, she uploaded the footage to her TikTok writing "I was just
suspended from my job after this incident." Sotelo explained that her employer had told her that she
wouldn’t work or be paid until every video of the fight was removed from the Internet, which
she speculated as management’s attempt to keep the matter private from Subway’s corporate entities.
Sotelo denied having had any responsibility for the initial leak and argued on TikTok that
she didn’t have the ability to remove the videos from the Internet. Sotelo’s clip gained millions
of views and many users voiced their support for the brave employee while a Subway representative
claimed that they were in contact with the local branch to better understand the situation.
Number 6 California Smoke Shop Shootout On April the 3rd of 2022, a dramatic
shootout took place at the Smoke Shop, in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Compton. Four men
entered the store and, within seconds, one of them brandished a gun and held it just inches
from an employee’s face. The unnamed man, who was wearing a security vest,
rapidly ducked from the line of fire and drew his own handgun from a belt holster. A fire exchange
ensued as he ducked behind the glass counter. Two robbers fell over each other as they scrambled
to get away and all four took cover behind a shelf by the door. Even though he was injured,
outnumbered and outgunned by three to one, the brave employee continued to return fire against
the robbers. After they fled the store and about 30 minutes after the gun battle, one of the men
was dropped off at Martin Luther King Hospital, where he passed away from his wounds. A second
suspect was arrested the following day while two other men, identified as 21-year-old Keith Terrion
Rachel and 23-year-old Kahlel Malik Lundy, remained at large. In addition to a plethora
of other legal repercussions, the surviving trio also faced a murder charge, as they bore
responsibility for the death of their unnamed accomplice. The smoke shop employee suffered
gunshot injuries to his face and neck but was released following treatment at a local hospital.
Number 5 Rite Aid Incident In later October of 2022,
an employee at a Rite Aid drugstore thwarted a brazen shoplifting attempt in a video-recorded
incident that was picked up by multiple media outlets in the aftermath. The identities of those
involved remained unspecified as was the location where the attempted theft took place. A bearded
man in a gray hoodie was filmed filing a blue bag with various items from the shelves as a woman’s
voice was heard repeatedly asking off-camera “are you for real?” The thief then tried to walk out
of the store but was stopped by a worker. The two men came face to face with the latter telling the
former that he’ll leave him alone if he dropped the bag, which he refused to do and kept trying
to walk out. The employee then bear-hugged the would-be thief, swept his legs and slammed him
to the floor. He then held his head down until he surrendered the stolen items and left the store.
Number 4 Summer Tapasa-Sataraka A surveillance video went viral on Twitter,
in December of 2019, of a physical altercation at a Best Buy in Waimalu,
Hawaii, involving an employee and a would-be shoplifter. 24-year-old Summer Tapasa-Sataraka
later revealed that she’d spotted the man steal a speaker from the store a few days prior,
when she was inside as a customer. Then, when the Best Buy worker was on the job,
she saw him attempt to run out with another speaker and reportedly thought to herself “not
today”. She assumed a wide stance and repeatedly shoved him away from the exit. They both fell out
of the camera’s view as another worker intervened to separate them. After the suspected shoplifter
was taken down and placed in what appeared to be a submission by the second employee,
he clung to Tapasa-Sataraka’s shirt and pulled it over her head. The suspect eventually got back to
his feet and Tapasa-Sataraka walked him down until he left the store. She was terminated in
the aftermath for violating the company’s policy regarding shoplifting but bore no ill-will towards
the retailer, as she’d expressed an intention of leaving prior to the altercation. Tapasa-Satarakah
reported that she’d never expected to become a viral sensation. She’d sent a copy of the
surveillance footage to her sister, who shared it on Twitter, where it ultimately
amassed millions of views. The clip caught the attention of Dana White, president of the UFC,
the leading promotion in mixed martial arts. He flew Tapasa-Satarakah out to Las Vegas, offered
her front a row seat for UFC 246 and subsequently hired her to work security for the promotion.
Number 3 Princess Bride Diamond Fight In May of 2022, siblings Dallas and Sarah
Baca were working at the Princess Bride Diamonds jewelry, a store owned by their parents in
Huntington Beach, California, when four robbers attempted a smash and grab. One of the masked
thugs used a hammer to shatter a display case as his accomplices came in carrying backpacks
which they were presumably expecting to fill up with jewelry pieces. Dallas quickly charged one
of the robbers and landed two forceful punches to his head, sending him off balance and falling
to the floor. Employee Lily Ochoa ran from behind the counter and joined in the melee, pushing one
robber outside and repeatedly kicking the one that Dallas had floored. The latter’s sister,
Sarah, emerged from the back of the store with a stool which she used to strike the robbers. It was
only after the gang had been chased out and the store was locked, that Sarah realized she’d been
hit in the side of the head with a hammer, but the injury wasn’t life threatening. As footage
of the incident went viral, customers and other businesses in the area praised the siblings and
Ochoa’s tenacity in fighting off the robbers. Number 2 Juwan Harris
Store clerk Juwan Harris was on the job at a Circle K convenience store, in Raleigh,
North Carolina, when a robbery unfolded, in the fall of 2017. The suspect, later identified as
51-year-old William Winston, told Harris that he had a gun, while reportedly pushing and harassing
customers. He then tried to flee the store, after taking cash and cigarettes, but the employee went
after him armed with a baseball bat. She struck Winston in the back of the head and he dropped to
the ground. He then rose to his feet, but Harris kept hitting him in the head with the bat and
subdued him until law enforcement arrived at the scene. Winston was taken to a local hospital for
treatment, after which he was arrested on robbery charges. As shown by his subsequent mugshot, the
bat strikes had left him with bloodied lips and a swollen face. As she spoke to the press in the
incident’s wake, Harris revealed that she still stood by her decision of confronting the robber,
even though it had resulted in her losing her job. Circle K fired her for violating the store’s
safety policy which, like that of other retailers, prevented employees from engaging robbers.
Number 1 Johnny Nguyen On August the 3rd of 2022, Johnny Nguyen was
working behind the counter of his Smokestrom Smoke Shop, in Las Vegas, when two men wearing black ski
masks walked into the store. Surveillance footage showed the 22-year-old small business owner
telling them to take the money but asking them to leave the coins. While doing so, he discretely
grabbed a knife that he kept near the register. One of the robbers then swiped the tip jar and
walked out while his accomplice jumped over the counter and tried to take an item from the shelf.
Moments later, Nguyen charged and started stabbing the suspect repeatedly. He delivered three
forceful knife strikes to his shoulder, prompting the robber to try and punch his way out of the
altercation. Nguyen then changed the angle of his strikes, progressively stabbing him in the leg,
rib section and then twice in the back. The robber yelled out “Stop, please! I’m dead” as Nguyen
grabbed him by the neck and dragged him near the exit. While the owner was calling the emergency
service, the robber was recorded pleading with him “Don’t let me die, sir” adding “I’m sorry,
this wasn’t my idea”. Law enforcement revealed that the robbers were in their teens but provided
no further update on the condition of the one that Nguyen had stabbed. In the incident’s wake,
the business owner claimed that he would further arm himself and also implement a system that
would enable him to buzz in prospective customers. Thanks for watching! Would you rather be a hostage
in a bank robbery OR a passenger on a runaway train? Let us know in the comments section below!