A Chicago business owner is sharing his story after fighting back against an armed robber in Portage Park earlier this month.
The confrontation occurred at Car Care Auto Spa near Cicero and Patterson Avenues.
It’s been more than two weeks since James Suh came face to face with the armed robber inside his business, with the two minute-long confrontation caught on surveillance camera.
“It was just so sudden and alarming, no preparations,” he said. “I didn’t even see him walking in and all of a sudden he’s just there in front of me.”
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The business owner told NBC 5 he was on a conference call for his daughter’s school around closing time when a masked man walked in, held him at a gunpoint, and demanded money from the register.
“My mind was in complete shock,” he said. “I didn’t know how to react, how to respond at all-- my hands just went immediately.”
Suh told the robber he couldn’t open the register. The robber is seen on camera having issues with the gun. The married father of two said he saw this as an opportunity to try to grab the gun away from him.
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“Your mind is just firing on all cylinders in such a short time, and I think I was mostly acting on emotions and frustrations, which is not a good place to make important decisions,” he said.
Another camera angle shows the two struggling near the front of the store. Both individuals are seen grappling over the weapon, with Suh trying to disarm the suspect.
In the end, Suh was able to snatch the gun away from the suspect, who ran out of the store empty handed.
“This guy, he was clearly not a professional, he didn’t know what he was doing,” he said. “I don’t know what his circumstances are you know, maybe he felt he was desperate and he had no choice to go out and do this.”
Suh knows this could have been a different outcome. He’s advising others tonight not to do what he did in the spur of the moment.
“I guess if I had to do it all over again, I’d probably just comply and just give him the money,” he said. “Because it’s not worth it.”
Suh said Chicago police told him the gun was not loaded.
Area Five detectives are investigating this incident. The suspect fled northbound on Cicero Avenue, and has not been located at this time.
