A Wendy’s robbery on Christmas Day was thwarted by a customer who smashed a chair over the wannabe thief’s head.
The near-robbery took place at a Wendy’s in Yuba City, California at around 5.30pm on December 25, when a man entered the fast food joint with a pillowcase over his head.
The man was armed with a kitchen knife and threatened the cashier, according to authorities.
A man thwarted an armed robbery at a California Wendy’s by hitting the would-be robber on the back of the head with a wooden chair on Christmas Day
Despite his head wound, the robber managed to flee the Wendy’s and escape in a getaway car
To stop the robbery, one of the customers picked up a wooden chair and, approaching the robber from behind, smashed it over the back of his head – a scene that was captured by the restaurant’s surveillance cameras.
According to police, the would be robber was temporarily stunned by the hit, but managed to stand up and run outside, getting into a white sedan driven by a getaway driver.
The customer, who only identified himself by his first name, Daniel, 58, spoke with KCRA about what happened on December 27.
He said that he was in Yuba City, visiting his elderly parents. Instead of preparing a meal that night, they decided to grab something from Wendy’s instead.
They were seated at their table, waiting for their food, when David said that he saw the attempted robber walk into the restaurant. He said that he thought it ‘was a gag’ at first, until he saw the knife the man was carrying and heard him walk up to the cashier and demand the money from the register.
At that point, David said he picked up the chair and prepared to hit the robber with it.
Asked what was going through his head at that moment, David said, ‘I’m not going to let you turn this into somebody’s Christmas memorial.’
David said he tried to chase after the would be robber when he ran out of the restaurant, but that he stumbled and fell. ‘I’m 58 years old and it’s probably been maybe 15 years since I had to sprint,’ he said with a laugh.
Although police generally don’t encourage bystanders to get involved in trying to stop attempted robberies, FOX40 reported that Daniel was able to rely on some previous background training, since he was a security policeman in the Air Force.
Police are looking for the robbery suspect who is believed to have a head wound.
The getaway car has been described as a white sedan, possibly a Honda, produced sometime in the 1990s to 2000s.