Brave owner ejects knifeman from her shop

A SHOP owner averted a robbery in her own store by fighting off a man wielding a kitchen knife, according to the Guardia Civil.

A force spokesman reported that the suspect had entered the Chinese supermarket in Torrevieja apparently to buy a drink.

The woman was alone in the shop when he approached the counter with the can.

A Guardia Civil video – taken from the store’s security camera – shows how the man pulled out a knife to threaten the owner.

He went behind the counter and demanded the contents of the till.

However, according to the spokesman, the attempted robbery ‘did not turn out as he had expected’.

“Far from being intimidated by the threats of the intruder, she fought back and a struggle occurred between the two of them,” noted the spokesman.

The video shows how the store owner pushed the man towards the door while protecting herself from the knife.

The spokesman noted that she managed to eject the robber from the shop without him managing to steal the takings and without suffering any injury.

He said that when the events were reported, the Guardia Civil launched an investigation.

According to the spokesman, they were able to identify a suspect who had a long record of committing similar crimes due to the pictures which came from the security camera.

He added that one of the officers ‘immediately recognised the suspect’ because he had arrested him several times in the past.

A 45-year-old Torrevieja resident has been detained in connection with the incident.

He was charged with a crime of robbery with violence.

The spokesman added that when the suspect was arrested, he was in the home of his ‘partner’, despite a restraining order being in place over a domestic violence incident.

According to the force, he has broken this order on a number of previous occasions and has also been charged for this offence.

A Torrevieja judge has sent the suspect to prison on remand.