A brave shopkeeper fought back during a Christmas Eve armed robbery when a man burst into his store and pointed a gun in his face – while his two daughters watched.
Shocking CCTV footage shows Sibu Kuruvilla, owner of Premier Leo’s Supersaver store in Evington, Leicester, disarm his assailant before he and a co-worker wrestle him to the floor.
A desperate struggle lasting about five minutes ensued, in which both men were injured, before the raider was restrained and the police called to the scene.
The Christmas Eve drama was captured in its entirety on the security film, which the shop owner’s terrified daughters, aged nine and seven, could see on TV monitors as they hid in the store office.
Describing his ordeal, Mr Kuruvilla, 43, said: ‘I had my daughters with me and, as it was Christmas Eve, decided to pop into the store and help my co-worker close up for the day and give him a lift home.
‘I was sorting out magazines at the rear of the shop and my colleague was counting up the cash register when I heard this guy come in.
Sibu Kuruvilla, 43, owns Premier Leo’s Supersaver store in Evington, Leicester. He was working on Christmas Eve when the armed robber burst into his store
‘He was shouting: “Give me your money. Hand over your money,” at which point I stood up.
‘I saw this guy dressed in black with his face covered pointing a pistol in the face of my colleague.
‘I shouted: “I’m the owner, don’t hurt him, I’ll give you the money” and whispered to my daughters, who were with me, to go into the back office and lock the door.’
The robber then turned his attention to Sibu, who was marched behind the counter to the till.
The shopkeeper said: ‘I opened the cash register and pushed the panic alarm linked directly to the police, although I had no idea it whether the alarm had been sent.
‘I took the money out as slowly as I could as I thought about what to do, with a pistol pointed in my face.
‘At that point I thought we were going to be killed.’
Mr Kuruvilla held the raider down until police came. The robber stormed into Premier Leo’s Supersaver store at about 10pm on Christmas Eve
Then Mr Kuruvilla saw his opportunity – and took it. He said: ‘The guy was getting more agitated and was pushing and pulling at me.
‘That’s when the gun sort of came down to his side. I am trained in karate and knew I could do it so I just went for it.
‘I grabbed the gun and ripped it from his grasp and threw it across the floor.
‘That’s when we started wrestling on the floor. He was kicking and punching and scratching me as shelves crashed around us.
The robber pointed a fake gun at Mr Kuruvilla’s co-worker and asked for him to hand over money
‘My co-worker dived in to help and at one point I got up to ring the police but my phone was in the office with the girls.
‘That’s when the guy managed to get to his feet and grab a bottle of prosecco, which he used to hit my friend over the head several times with.’
It took five minutes to restrain the invader before Mr Kuruvilla could phone the police.
He said: ‘By then we were tired, and he was tired, and he kept begging us to let him go, saying “I won’t come back to your store again”.
Mr Kuruvilla overheard the confrontation and told the robber he’d give him the money. The shopkeeper told his two daughters to lock themselves in the office to stay safe
‘To which I replied: “Yes, but you will rob other stores”.’
Police officers arrived at the scene about 15 minutes after the robber entered the Main Street store and he was arrested.
Mr Kuruvilla said: ‘My co-worker and I were covered in cuts and bruises and were driven by the police to hospital.
‘Fortunately, our injuries were only minor but we’ve both been left pretty shaken up by our ordeal.
‘He is frightened to work late in the evening and the big thing for me is my young daughters saw the whole thing.
Mr Kuruvilla wrestled the raider to the ground after throwing away what he thought was a real gun
‘Neither of them have been able to sleep properly since and are deeply disturbed by what they witnessed.’
Mr Kuruvilla, however, still went ahead and opened up the shop for business on Christmas Day.
He said: ‘I feel terrible, angry and frustrated. I had no idea until the police told me that the gun was an imitation firearm.
‘I thought it was real. I thought we could get killed. I’m angry too that during the struggle about four customers came into the store but none of them helped us.
‘I went ahead and opened up the next day because it’s a big business day for us. I’ve run the shop for two years now and have had nothing like this happen before.
The shop owner managed to keep the man pinned down until police came sometime after 10pm on December 24. A 17-year-old had been arrested in connection with the incident
‘But it makes you think and nervous whenever I have to close up at night.’
A Leicestershire Police spokeswoman said a 17-year-old had been arrested in connection with the incident on December 24.
Cops said the suspect entered the premises at about 10pm before being apprehended at the scene.
The teenager was arrested on suspicion of robbery and has since been released pending further inquiries.
The spokeswoman added: ‘An investigation into the incident continues and officers would like to speak to anyone who witnessed the incident, or who has any further information.’
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