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Vannarithros Ross stopped abruptly when he entered his Methuen liquor store Thursday night, staring in disbelief as his daughter stacked small piles of money on the counter with a weapon pointed in her face.
Within seconds, Ross, 52, tackled the suspect to the ground and held him tightly, he said. His son joined in the fight by hitting the man in the head with a bottle of fish sauce.
"I don't even think you should do that but you know it's a natural reaction," said Ross's son, Malin Phon, 24. "My dad is very alert at all times. I guess it's just an instinct for him."
Police were dispatched to Methuen Package Store on Lowell Street at 9:20 p.m. and arrested Douglas Brown, 47, of Lowell, at the scene, said Detective Lieutenant Michael Pappalardo. He was transported to Caritas Holy Family Hospital for treatment and police took him into custody after he was released. Brown was charged with armed robbery during his arraignment in Lawrence District Court yesterday and was ordered held on $250,000 cash bail. The weapon turned out to be a BB gun.
The drama unfolded when Ross said he had returned from a quick shopping trip with a six-pack of Mountain Dew in each hand. His son called out to him from behind the counter in their native Cambodian language, Khmer, that the man had a gun, he said. But the suspect focused his attention on the cash within reach.
"He didn't look at me so I dropped the Mountain Dew and I grabbed him," recalled Ross during a telephone interview while back at work yesterday.
Using his bare hands, Ross said he wrestled the man to the ground and sat on his back. His son said he grabbed the bottle of fish sauce near where the robber ordered him to the ground, jumped over the counter, and nearly knocked the thief unconscious with three swift blows to the head. "I just felt that I had to protect my family," Phon said.
"When I got home I said 'oh man, why me?' " Ross said. "I went home and took a shower but my hands still smelled like fish sauce."
The family had stayed at the store late to mop up blood and fish sauce and bleach the floors. Ross says the spot is now clean but the violent episode is something he will not forget.
"I couldn't sleep last night," he said. "We feel bad for the guy, but it's not the right way to do this."
Pappalardo said there did not appear to be any criminal wrongdoing on the owner's part.
"On occasion, employees or business owners will try to defend their store and their property against robbery suspects," Pappalardo said. "It's not extremely common but it happens.
"Our advice is any time anybody is the victim of an apparent robbery where there is a weapon involved is to comply as much as they can to avoid being hurt."
And don't carry fish sauce without a permit!
Within seconds, Ross, 52, tackled the suspect to the ground and held him tightly, he said. His son joined in the fight by hitting the man in the head with a bottle of fish sauce.
"I don't even think you should do that but you know it's a natural reaction," said Ross's son, Malin Phon, 24. "My dad is very alert at all times. I guess it's just an instinct for him."
Police were dispatched to Methuen Package Store on Lowell Street at 9:20 p.m. and arrested Douglas Brown, 47, of Lowell, at the scene, said Detective Lieutenant Michael Pappalardo. He was transported to Caritas Holy Family Hospital for treatment and police took him into custody after he was released. Brown was charged with armed robbery during his arraignment in Lawrence District Court yesterday and was ordered held on $250,000 cash bail. The weapon turned out to be a BB gun.
The drama unfolded when Ross said he had returned from a quick shopping trip with a six-pack of Mountain Dew in each hand. His son called out to him from behind the counter in their native Cambodian language, Khmer, that the man had a gun, he said. But the suspect focused his attention on the cash within reach.
"He didn't look at me so I dropped the Mountain Dew and I grabbed him," recalled Ross during a telephone interview while back at work yesterday.
Using his bare hands, Ross said he wrestled the man to the ground and sat on his back. His son said he grabbed the bottle of fish sauce near where the robber ordered him to the ground, jumped over the counter, and nearly knocked the thief unconscious with three swift blows to the head. "I just felt that I had to protect my family," Phon said.
"When I got home I said 'oh man, why me?' " Ross said. "I went home and took a shower but my hands still smelled like fish sauce."
The family had stayed at the store late to mop up blood and fish sauce and bleach the floors. Ross says the spot is now clean but the violent episode is something he will not forget.
"I couldn't sleep last night," he said. "We feel bad for the guy, but it's not the right way to do this."
Pappalardo said there did not appear to be any criminal wrongdoing on the owner's part.
"On occasion, employees or business owners will try to defend their store and their property against robbery suspects," Pappalardo said. "It's not extremely common but it happens.
"Our advice is any time anybody is the victim of an apparent robbery where there is a weapon involved is to comply as much as they can to avoid being hurt."
And don't carry fish sauce without a permit!
![[rolleyes]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/042.gif "Roll Eyes [rolleyes]")
