Clerk foils armed robber by grabbing his rifle

PORT HURON, Mich. - A gas station clerk didn't go looking for trouble but when it found him, he was ready for a fight.

FOX 2 spoke to the clerk who kept his cool during the entire encounter.

Mounir Alwigeh says he only got a few hours of rest the night before working his 10 hour shift at the Marathon gas station in Port Huron  Tuesday.

That did not stop him from fighting off an armed robber.

"When I grabbed it, I moved it to the right side," Alwigeh said. "He tried to shoot."

The caper was caught on camera.

"I wish he would've come at the right time," Alwigeh said. "I would not have let him go to the john, I would've taken it from his hand. But I was not scared."

The gunman walked into the gas station around 10 p.m. armed with a rifle and wanting a lot more than gas. He confronted a sleepy, albeit confident clerk.

"He talked some (expletive) he said 'Don't touch any buttons, don't call the police, don't blah blah blah.' I said okay and give him a chance. When he thinks I'm going to get some money I pulled the gun with the right hand."

As Alwigeh struggled with the man while holding the barrel of his rifle, he got really gutsy.

"I go down to the bottom right here," he said. "When he sees me do that he runs away, he thinks I (had the) gun."

The bluff worked.

The attempted robbery was a first for Mounir and it seems he's not at all worried if there's a second.

"He's lucky, yes sir," Alwigeh said, adding that he was thankful Port Huron police responded so quickly.

Police are looking for a white man with a light colored beard wearing a black coat, black pants and a fur trapper hat.