Army vet turns the tables on armed robber

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Surveillance video released on Tuesday by the Brevard County Sheriff's Office shows an armed robber pointing a gun at gas station clerk, demanding money. It happened last Tuesday at the BP gas station in Mims.

“He was using a lot of profanity, just telling me to put the money in the bag," said David Dick.  But things didn't go as planned, for the robber.  “I kind of went into my training mode to get the gun away as soon as fast as I could and  to inflict as much damage as I could ," Dick said.

Dick, 34, isn’t just any clerk; he is an Army veteran who did five tours in Iraq as a specialist.  Needless to say, it didn't end well for the robber.  "He made the first mistake, he took the gun off me for that split second, and I was able to take control of the situation," Dick said.

Even though the gun was an airsoft gun, at the time David didn't know that, he was able to grab the gun and put the suspect in a choke hold, punching him multiple times.

"He was standing like a little bit right here so he was close enough to me and that's when I knew I had a chance as soon as I got him to look away," Dick said.

Dropping the money, the robber eventually ran out of the store as fast as possible.  “His eyes got really, really big and trying to get away from me as fast as he possibly could," Dick said.

The robber is still on the run, and David, a husband and father of five, hopes he's caught.  “Having a gun pointed at your face, it changes you, and over $60 this person wanted to ruin somebody's life," Dick said.  While David said he acted on his instincts, he said he doesn't recommend others try to fight of bad guys especially when they're armed.

Anyone with information on that suspect should call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).