Amrik Singh, an Indian-origin convenience store owner in the USA, displayed exemplary courage by foiling an armed robbery attempt in the New York city this week, armed with only a chappal (slipper).
A man entered into the store at a gas station holding a shotgun and demanded money from Singh. He fought back using his footwear and tried to overpower the robber. The man fired at him and fled. Singh gave him a chase but he managed to speed away in a car.
The incident happened at around 8:00 pm on December 15 at the Mini Mart Citgo Station at Route 9 in Staatsburg. Security footage from outside the service station shows a shoeless Singh chasing the gunman. Once out of the camera’s view, the gunman allegedly fired at him which missed him and hit the ground. The assailant then hit at Singh’s feet with the shotgun and Singh fell down as he sped away in a car.
“Something (inside told me) what to do,” Singh, a father of two, told the Poughkeepsie Journal. “I fell down,” Singh told New York’s WABC-TV. “He didn’t get me, but he did shoot. I don’t know what happened, but nothing scared for me.”
The New York State Police has released a video of the incident and has appealed the public to provide any information about the assailant who is described to be approximately 5’10” tall with a thin build. He was wearing a camouflage mask and fled the store northbound on Route 9 in a dark coloured vehicle with orange New York plates. Any person with information is requested to contact SP Rhinebeck of New York Police at 845-876-4049.
