Hayward convenience store employees thwart armed robbery attempt

HAYWARD, Calif. (KTVU) - Store employees at the Royal Market in Hayward put up a fight turning the tables on an armed robber who shot at them Tuesday night and detaining him themselves until deputies arrive.

In surveillance video from Royal Market, a man wearing a hoodie and his face covered with a bandanna enters the store Tuesday around 8 p.m. He pulls a gun on the clerk, 34-year-old Amit Prasad, behind the counter and demands money from the register.

“I wasn’t scared, scared,” said Prasad. “I was like mad that this is going to happen now.”

The clerk's brother was also in the store and sneaks up behind the suspect grabbing him. The robber fires one round. The bullet hits the brother in the leg.

“It was life involved like my brother's and mine,” said Prasad. “He shot my brother and put a gun on me. That means he's ready for a war.”

A struggle ensues as the two take the masked man down to the ground. Another bullet hits Prasad’s hand. Still, they’re able to put the suspect in a choke hold. Prasad beat him until police and paramedics arrived and took the suspect into custody.

Surinder Singh, the store owner, calls them brave.

“We think we are lucky and God gave us help so we don't get hurt,” said Singh.

"It is definitely heroic,” said Customer Tia Reese. “It is going to teach them not to mess with them in here anymore.”
               
As for Amit Prasad, he is thankful nothing worse happened.

“It’s a miracle that we are still alive,” said Prasad. “A gun is a gun. One shot you are done. It was a good angle. We got him in the right spot.”

The store employees said the suspect is a juvenile. The store has been around for 20 years. It has never been robbed before until Tuesday.