The horrifying moment a thief wielding a 25cm knife threatens a 70-year-old customer has been caught on camera as the shop owner admits ‘I really thought he would stab him’.
Darren Collier has owned a newsagency in Mitcham, Victoria, for over 25 years but had yet to witness something quite as terrifying as being robbed at knife point by a ‘drug-affected’ man, Nine News reports.
The father-of-two was serving his loyal customer Frank, who had only popped in to top up his Myki travel card, when the thief rushed in at 7.30am.
Wearing a light-grey hoodie, reflective sunglasses and a balaclava, the thug brandished the knife against Frank’s throat (pictured)
Wearing a light-grey hoodie, reflective sunglasses and a balaclava, the thug brandished the knife against Frank’s throat and ‘kept repeating “give me the money c***”.’
‘It was a frightening moment in time really. We all knew comply, don’t argue. It was a frightening moment, Mr Collier said.
The newsagent owner handed over $500 worth of notes but the thief wasn’t pleased with what was on offer. He appears to make stabbing motions in the air with the kitchen blade, asking for more.
Mr Collier obliges with a bag of coins from the till.
The crime only lasted 50 seconds but it wasn’t enough to frighten the men into hiding
‘You could just tell he was, you know, he was ready for anything. It just felt like we needed to get him out of here, give him the money, get rid of him,’ he said.
The crime only lasted 50 seconds but it wasn’t enough to frighten the men into hiding.
‘We’ve got to move on. If we let ’em beat us you know, they win,’ Mr Collier said.
The thief is described as being Caucasian, aged in his twenties, and around 188 centimetres tall. He also spoke with a strong Australian accent.