Photo: Tacoma Police Department
Newly-released surveillance video caught the moment a convenience store clerk in Washington State brandished a machete against a knife-wielding suspect. The Tacoma Police Department shared the shocking footage in a Monday (February 12) Facebook post.
Officers said the incident unfolded on February 5 at a business in the 1100 block of Yakima Ave. The clip begins with a concealed man pointing a knife at the clerk, causing somebody near the counter to move away from the scene.
The employee appears to finish putting away the money in his drawer before he walks to another side of the counter and pulls a machete on the armed suspect. The clerk even swipes at the suspect, who doesn't back down as the worker moves from behind the counter. According to police, the confrontation caused the unknown man to flee the store.
Officers were dispatched to the retailer just before 8 p.m. and spoke with the clerk. The employee told police the suspect walked into the store, pulled out a knife, and then fled after the "bigger knife" came out. Authorities reviewed witness statements and surveillance footage to identify the suspect, who was arrested the next day.
He was booked into the Pierce County jail for first-degree robbery and felony harassment.