CCTV shows 'hero' shopkeeper fight off two armed robbers then barricade them inside shop

Nasir Ahmed fends off robbers as they attack him with crowbar and axe

A convenience shop worker has been hailed as a "hero" after he fought two armed robbers who burst into his store with a crowbar and an axe in a shocking attack caught on CCTV.

Nisar Ahmed was working alone when the two masked robbers rushed into the A Plus One Convenience Store in Calgary, Canada, and told him to "get down" at 5am on 17 August.

Mr Ahmed told one of the thieves to take "anything he wants" and picked up a plastic step-stool to fend him off as he closed in on him behind the counter with a pickaxe.


 Nisar Ahmed fought two armed robbers and barricaded them into his store in Canada
 (The Independent)

When the robber lunged at Mr Ahmed, the shop assistant grabbed him and pulled off his balaclava so his face would be visible on the surveillance camera.

He later told CTVNews: "Maybe if I take off the mask, I think, maybe his face would be seen by my camera everywhere. So maybe he's a little bit scared of the camera."

The second attacker, who had been rifling through the shelves of cigarettes behind the counter, turned and started swinging at Mr Ahmed with a crowbar as he grappled with the unmasked man.

Mr Ahmed grabbed hold of the crook's crowbar with his left arm while he was wrestling with the first attacker.

He managed to escape from behind the counter and ran out of the store after the scuffle.

The quick-thinking cashier then dragged large metal benches in front of the shop's doors to barricade the criminals in as they stuffed stolen goods into a bag.

After trying to barge their way out, the two criminals smashed through the glass with the crowbar and their boots.

The two armed robbers smashed their way through the store's glass doors after Nasir Ahmed barricaded them inside with metal benches. (The Independent ) (The Independent)

But when they tried to escape, Mr Ahmed managed to tackle the unmasked robber and held him until police arrived at the scene.

Two people have been arrested. They are Arthur Bennie, 35, and Natalie Elashuk, 25.

They have both been charged with robbery and assault with a weapon.

The store's owner Asif Mohamed said he has given Mr Ahmed a bonus and time off following the robbery.

"He's a hero you know, because he caught the robber and didn't get hurt. The most important thing is nothing happened to him," he told CTVNews.

"We say if a robber comes in, we say 'take whatever you guys want here, take whole store, we don't care'. Because I care about my employees."