Johnny Nguyen store owner stabs robber, Smokestrom Smoke Shop in Las Vegas
The owner of a vape shop in Las Vegas fights back against a robber by stabbing him with a knife.
According to a video and a worker's account of what happened, the owner of a vape store in Las Vegas repeatedly stabbed a thief who scared him by jumping over his counter during a failed robbery.
Wednesday's brazen daylight robbery was caught on video. The owner of Smokestrom Smoke Shop, Johnny Nguyen, stabbed the unidentified thief at least seven times before the robber yelled "I'm dead" and fell to the ground.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told The Post that they responded to a robbery at the vape shop on Wednesday afternoon, but they wouldn't say any more.
Nguyen told The Post on Friday, "I was afraid for my life." "When they came in, one of them looked like he had a gun or something in a bag in front of him. There wasn't much time for me to think. I picked up my knife right by the cash register."
Nguyen, who is 22, said that on Wednesday around 3:25 p.m., two men in black ski masks walked into his shop while a third man stood by the door. On the video, Nguyen can be seen asking the two suspects why they were wearing ski masks.
When Nguyen told them to leave, one of the suspects grabbed the tip jar.
"I first asked them nicely to leave, but the guy took my tip jar, which was fine," Nguyen said. "The situation got worse when they went back and tried to take more."
One of the suspects was caught on camera jumping over the counter and reaching for products on the shelf. Nguyen said he was afraid for his life and grabbed his three-inch-bladed knife to stab the attacker seven times.
"Please stop! I'm dead! The would-be thief said, "I'm dead" as he fell to the ground.
Nguyen said, "I remember him saying, 'Please don't let me die.'" "He said he felt bad. He took off his mask himself at that point. I was trying to call the police when he tried to get in touch with me. I just ran because I wanted to make sure the police and ambulance would get here on time."
Police told Nguyen that the thief was 17 years old. No one knew what was wrong with him.
The brazen attempt to rob Nguyen's shop in Las Vegas happened a day after a business owner in California made national news when he shot a robber with an AR-15-style rifle who had broken into his liquor store.
Craig Cope, the owner of Norco Market & Liquor in Norco, California, was also caught on video shooting at the armed robber. The robber ran out of the store screaming and got into a car with other suspects to get away.
On Saturday, Nguyen, who will be 23 years old, will say that he is glad he made it through the ordeal. He said that the event "shook" him, and he plans to look into getting other weapons to protect himself.
"This is how we make a living as small business owners," Nguyen told The Post. "Not only do they threaten our lives, but they also threaten our way of life. We have to be careful."