Moment customers tackle would-be thief in Gold Coast

  • A man attempted to rob a pharmacy in Southport on the Gold Coast on Sunday
  • Before he could leave, three witnesses stopped and tackled him to the ground
  • They handcuffed him until the police arrived and escorted him from the store

A group of brave onlookers have saved a Southport chemist from a light-fingered thief by tackling him to the ground before he could leave the shop with the stolen items.

CCTV obtained by Channel 7 captured the moment that the robber, dressed in a plain grey sweater with the hood pulled up over his face, tried to make a quick exit from the pharmacy.

But he is stopped in his tracks by a quick-thinking man in a black shirt, who ran up to him and pinned his arms to his sides before he could get out the door.

Two men have stopped a thief (centre) who tried to escape after robbing a Gold Coast chemist

The two men manage to wrestle the man away from the door and back inside the pharmacy

A second witness dressed in a white shirt and black shorts also rushed to help, pulling the man’s arm away from the door handle as he tried leave the premesis.

Merchandise was knocked to the floor during the struggle between the three men, before the two witnesses managed to overpower the thief, drag him back inside the chemist and pin him to the ground.

As they struggled, a third man joined the fray – and the combined weight of the three men stopped the robber from escaping.

Squirming on the floor, they put him in make-shift handcuffs provided by the pharmacist as yet more customers are drawn to the unfolding spectacle.

The establishment’s owner disappeared out the door and returned with two police officers, who quickly dashed through the door to assess the situation.

Between them, they were able to subdue the would-be thief and eventually haul him into a sitting position by his sweater.

The pharmacist (second from left) gives wire to one of the men to make temporary handcuffs as the third man (far right in red shorts) lends a hand in keeping the thief lying on the ground

The pharmacist (second from left) gives wire to one of the men to make temporary handcuffs as the third man (far right in red shorts) lends a hand in keeping the thief lying on the ground

The thief is kept on the floor until two policemen (pictured right) are able to attend the scene

The thief is kept on the floor until two policemen (pictured right) are able to attend the scene

The quick-thinking men have been liberally praised by the hundreds of thousands of people who have seen the video, with one writing that they deserve ‘a big kiss’.

‘Good on ya boys, you should be proud of yourself to have protect[ed] your part of the community,’ wrote one admirer.

Another wrote that we need ‘more heroes like them’ in Australia, and yet another agreed that their actions to save the local shop from robbery was ‘the true meaning of community’.



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