A teen boy is being hailed a hero after he was caught on camera snatching a gun from a robber who was targeting his parents’ business and scaring him off.
Efaj Ahmed, 17, was working inside his parents' convenience store on the 4000 block of Ventnor Avenue in Atlantic City Monday around 4:15 p.m. when a man in a dark jacket, hood and mask entered.
“I get up and he was like, ‘Put all the money right here,’” Ahmed told NBC10.
A surveillance video from inside the store shows the suspect setting an open bag and gun on the cashier counter.
“His hand was right on the bag and the gun was right on the counter,” Ahmed said. “He’s like, ‘Put all the money right here, right now.'”
That’s when the teen jumped into action and turned the tables on the suspect. Surveillance video shows him snatching the robber’s gun.
“I snatched the gun from him, took it and aimed it at him,” Ahmed said. “That’s when he took his mask off and everything and put his hands up. He’s like, ‘Stop. Stop. Stop.'”
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
The suspect fled the store and was last seen walking quickly southbound on Ventnor Avenue, police said. Investigators are currently looking for surveillance footage of the suspect from nearby stores. Neighboring business owners say they recognize the suspect and believe he’s known to police.
“He’s not really a professional,” Ahmed said. “He’s a local person who needs some money for drugs.”
Ahmed admitted he’d never held a gun before Monday’s incident.
“When I was a little kid my dad used to buy me BB guns. That’s about it,” he said while chuckling.
Ahmed said he would do it all over again however in order to protect what his parents have worked so hard for.
“They put a roof over my head,” he said. “They give me food. Three meals a day. I’ve got to do something. I’ve got to help them out. As soon as I had the gun I knew he couldn’t do nothing to me.”
Police continue to search for the suspect.
