CCTV shows heroic Kingston shopkeeper thwarting bumbling burglar

Astonishing CCTV footage has captured the moment a courageous shopkeeper thwarted a machete wielding burglar’s attempts to rob his store. WATCH THE TERRIFYING VIDEO >>

Astonishing CCTV footage shows the moment when a courageous shopkeeper thwarts a bumbling burglar’s attempts to rob his store.

At around 6.15pm Sunday afternoon a balaclava-clad thief entered the Hawthorn Drive Store wielding a machete and demanding money from the co-owner behind the counter.

The co-owner, Daisy Huang, ran into a back room and locked the door, pressing a security button to call the police.

“I couldn’t believe it was really happening,” Mrs Huang said.

“I was shocked. My brain was completely blank.”

The thief opened the shop’s cigarette cabinet and clumsily struggled to open one of the black garbage bags he’d brought with him.

Hawthorn Drive Store, where the new owners were robbed at knifepoint. Picture: Linda Higginson

The man was wearing green dishwashing gloves at the time and became visibly frustrated at his difficulty with opening the garbage bag.

He eventually succeeds and tries to grab some cigarettes from the cabinet, but struggles to remove them from their plastic case.

While the thief was struggling with the cigarettes Mrs Huang’s husband Rickey Yan snuck into the store from the front door and grabbed a set of keys next to the thief.

Mr Yan then ran out of the store and locked the door behind him, trapping the thief inside.

The thief looks up mid-burglary, realises he is locked in, and starts bashing away at the door with his machete.

Still from CCTV of armed robbery at Hawthorn Drive Store.

“He knew the police is coming, he knew he was stuck in the store,” Mr Yan said.

“If he had enough time he’d rob everything.”

The burglar eventually smashes a hole in the glass and clambers through, taking only a small quantity of cigarettes with him.

Detective Inspector Michael Smith said this was an “unusual” series of events, but that police were now focusing on tracking down this burglar.

“It was a bit of quick thinking on his feet. I wouldn’t particularly encourage it, but in this instance it appeared it was safe to do so,” he said.

The door where the armed robber escaped after being locked into the store by the owner. Picture: Linda Higginson

“We’re seeking information from members of public who may have seen this person either around the Moonah area or around the Kingston area at a time.”

The man is described as being roughly 157 centimetres tall, possibly still in his teens or early adulthood, and of slim build.

He was last seen fleeing on foot through the neighbourhood centre and out on Cypress Lane before disappearing down Birch Street.

A witness says they spotted the man on the corner of Springfield Ave and Coleman Street in Moonah shortly before the Kingston robbery.

‘Very confronting’: Man wielding machete on the run after robbery

Monday, March 7

Police were called to a shop in Kingston last night in response to an armed robbery.

A male offender, armed with a machete, stole a quantity of cigarettes and was locked in the store by the owner.

The Hawthorn Drive store in Kingston after an armed robbery on Sunday. Picture: Phil Young

The offender used the machete to smash his way out of the store.

No one was physically injured.

The store’s owner said he and his wife were shaken up after the robbery but were open again for business today and doing ok.

“We could not have imagined this happening,” the owner said.

“It was a big thing to happen. We have owned the store for just two months.

“It was very confronting. I would say the man was aged between 25 and 35. We locked him in the shop but he smashed his way out.”

The offender is described as 5 ft 2, and was wearing a black hoodie and black tracksuit. A second male, who did not enter the shop was wearing a grey hoodie.

The Hawthorn Drive store in Kingston after an armed robbery on Sunday. Picture: Phil Young

Police are urging anyone with information to contact them on 131444 or call Crimestoppers online or 1800 333 000. Information to Crimestoppers can also be provided anonymously.