TOWN OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) – Security footage from a Town of Tonawanda 7-Eleven store on Sheridan Drive shows a citizen taking down an armed robber in the store.
Town of Tonawanda police said the incident occurred just before 11 p.m. on Tuesday when Robert M. Samson, 59, entered the store, displayed a handgun and demanded cash from the clerk.
As this was happening, a citizen with a large flashlight struck Samson several times in the head, dismantling and knocking him to the floor. The citizen acted within the law, according to police.
“The citizen identified the robbery and he used reasonable and necessary force to terminate the act from being committed,” said Captain Joseph Carosi, with Town of Tonawanda Police. “We would never advocate for vigilantism, that people go out and do this kind of thing or go out and look for it. This was just a specific example when the guy was in the right place at the right time and he had the means and the time to stop the act.”
Samson eventually stumbled out of the store and was located by police in the attic of his home on Sheridan Parkside Drive.
Samson was then treated at a hospital. He has been linked and charged with two other recent armed robberies in the town. Samson is being held at the Erie County Holding Center on $75,000 bail.
The citizen has not been identified by police.
See the raw surveillance video here:(Warning: Graphic Video)