Store owner thwarts robbery attempt

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WPRI) - Armed with a stick and a metal shelf, a New Bedford store owner took matters into his own hands when a pair of knife-wielding men tried holding up his store.

Nicholas Dawoud says his store, St. Elias Minnie Market, was held up last Monday, so he was ready for the pair when they entered the Rivet Street business Friday.

The whole incident was caught on surveillance camera.

It shows Dawoud, holding a stick, whacking at one suspect's knife.  The suspect tossed the store's lottery machine at him, but Dawoud then went after the would-be robber with a metal display shelf.

Dawoud's wife, Clotilde, chased the other suspect out of the store.

Showing us her tattered shirt, Clotilde said, "I pay my taxes, I pay my bills, I need my money for bills. I don't save nothing for me."

The couple says they are frustrated with the robbery attempts, because they work 14-hour days to support Nicholas' three children, including a daughter who is studying in Lebanon.

The owners have now added a bat to their weapons behind the counter.

The one suspect in the store was caught with the help of some neighbors from a nearby Mexican restaurant.

Dawoud says there's only one place for him, and that's in jail.

At last check, the second suspect was still on the loose.