This past April, a mysterious hero made headlines for the way he took down an armed robber nearly half his age. The event occurred in Monterrey, Mexico, at a local convenience store— and luckily for us, the entire nail-biting scene was captured by the store’s security cameras.
In the video, you see a hooded man walk into Carnes Cares, a family-owned butcher shop and convenience store.
He wears a dark colored sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head. As he walks in, you can immediately see him eying the counter. There, the cashier and an older man in a cowboy hat are standing.
At first, customers are grabbing items from the front of the store, but after they move to the back to continue shopping, the hooded man pulls out a gun and makes a sudden turn. Pointing the gun at the cashier, the man gestures towards the register. You can’t hear what he’s saying, but he’s likely telling her to give him the cash.
The robber then turns his attention towards the cowboy, pointing the gun in his direction and taking a few steps forward. The cowboy, clearly startled, backs up a bit. At this point, someone in the back of the store has heard the commotion and comes to see what’s going on.
When the robber turns to see the person approaching, the cowboy immediately takes advantage of his distraction.
As they grapple with each other, the cowboy wrestles the weapon out of the robber’s hand.
At this point, a butcher employee, clad in a hairnet and white uniform, races to grab the gun laying on the floor.
While all this is going on, the cowboy is still trying to take the robber down. At one point during their scuffle, the thief loses his shirt.
The video shows the robber running towards the door, where he almost gets away— but a fast-footed employee cuts him off, knocking him down over the store’s shopping baskets.
From there, the struggle moves to the back of the store, where the man is finally subdued.
While everything was going on, the cashier called 911. The police arrived shortly thereafter and took the man into custody. When the store posted the video on its Facebook page, the footage instantly went viral. The internet called the anonymous man a hero, nicknaming him “Hero Cowboy”— or simply “the man in the cowboy hat”. While many outlets called him a customer of the store, he’s actually the owner.
The cowboy’s name is Reynaldo Cardenas, and he’s 53 years old.
He’s been running Carnes Cares for 11 years, where he works with his son, Daniel. When the robbery occurred, Daniel had gone to the bank. But, he later told the Washington Post (quoted by NDTV), the robber had come into the store a few days prior, likely eyeing it out before his crime.
Although Reynaldo looks brave in the video, Daniel says his father was acting out of fear. “He really believed the man was going to shoot them,” he said. “When he had the chance, he acted instinctively to disarm him.” Although the experience was scary, Daniel has been greatly inspired by his father’s actions:
“It gave me courage to see him do what he did. Strength in knowing this is our place, and we don’t let people take from us.”
Watch the incredible moment below!
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