Sowann Suy has repeatedly shot or chased off would-be robbers from his store
A convenience store owner who locals dub ‘Clint Eastwood’ has chased off the sixth would-be robber from his shop with the help of his trusty sidearm.
Sowann Suy confronted the thirsty thief in his shop on Wednesday in Cocoa, Florida, when the crook allegedly tried to walk out of the door with a bottle of beer in each pocket.
Suy walked out right behind him, gun in hand.
‘I told him to give my beer back, and he ignored it. I pointed a gun at him, and he gave me my beer back, and I shot one bullet in the air,’ Suy told WESH.
The store owner is no stranger to confrontation.
In 2009, a man burst into his shop waving a gun demanding money, and Suy shot him in the stomach. The robber survived and was convicted of armed robbery.
Police responded after Suy fired a warning shot at an alleged beer thief, but the situation was already well in hand. Police have the suspect in custody
The following year, a man who did not display a weapon walked into his shop and began demanding money from the register.
Suy leveled his heater at the crook and gave him an ultimatum: get out or get shot.
‘I just scared him off, Suy said at the time. ‘I let him get away.’
Last year, a trio of bungling robbers attempted a stick-up at Suy’s store. Things did not go as they planned.
Suy told investigators that when a masked man walked into his store with a gun, Suy pulled his gun from behind the counter and and shot him.
The other two robbers saw what had happened and sped out of the gas station in a getaway car.
Police said the injured robber, Norrick Hyman, crawled bleeding across the parking lot as his accomplices disappeared, shouting: ‘DJ, come get me, DJ help me!’
Norrick Hyman ate lead when he tried to stick up Suy’s store last year
Hyman recovered from his injuries and is currently serving 20 years in prison for armed robbery.
Suy’s no-nonsense attitude toward crime and quick trigger finger have earned him the nickname ‘Clint Eastwood’ from regular customers.
Police questioned Suy after the Wednesday incident but did not arrest him. The suspect is in custody.
A police spokeswoman emphasized that Suy ‘had a perfect right to defend himself – everybody does’.
Suy had a message for any other would-be robbers looking for an easy score.
‘People are lazy – don’t want to work. They want easy stuff. That’s not right,’ Suy observed after his latest showdown.
‘You live in the United States, should be everybody has to work hard for it. Earn your own money.’