If you’re going to rob a store, you better make sure there aren’t any cowboys inside.
On second thought, it’s probably best to just never rob a store, or anywhere else for that matter.
Nowadays, there are precious few opportunities for cowboys to show how brave they are. It’s not like it was back in the 1800s when there were gunfights and shootouts at local saloons.
The cowboy in this story seized the opportunity to be a hero when the situation arose, however.
The setting of this incident was a family-owned store.
The shop was a convenience store that also had a butcher’s shop inside. It’s not the typical place you’ll find cowboys, but there just happened to be one there on this day.
The shop is located in Monterrey, Mexico, and was equipped with security cameras that captured what went down.
A very poorly planned robbery is attempted.
The attempted robber most likely did not plan this out well in advance. He makes very little attempt to disguise his identity even though the store is well equipped with security cameras. All he does is pull the hood up on his sweater, which leaves his face completely exposed.
The man also neglected one important rule that all would-be robbers should adhere to: Never turn your back on a cowboy.
The robber points a gun at the store clerk.
He then turns his attention to the man in the cowboy hat, pointing the gun in his direction. The cowboy then removed his glasses, which is sometimes something one might do before a physical confrontation is about to ensue.
As a customer walks out from the aisle, the robber then turns his attention to them and away from the cowboy. This was ultimately his biggest mistake.
Hero cowboy springs into action.
As soon as the robber’s back was to the cowboy, it was go time. The cowboy put his left arm around the neck of the robber and used his right hand to dislodge the gun.
An employee from the butcher’s shop then ran out and scooped up the gun as the cowboy and the robber struggled out of view of the camera.
In the split second that the robber and the cowboy are out of camera range, it appears the robber got out of the man’s grasp by taking off his sweater.
An unarmed and shirtless robber then emerges back in the camera’s view as he attempted to flee the store. Needless to say, this robbery had not gone as planned.
The robber is apprehended by the cowboy and 2 butchers before he can leave the store.
As the robber is being led away the camera just catches the store clerk calmly reaching for the phone, likely to call the police.
The owner of the shop, a man named Daniel Cardenas, spoke to the media about what took place. The man in the cowboy hat just so happened to be his father, Reynaldo Cardenas.
Daniel would later tell the media that despite his father’s calm demeanor, his father was quite frightened during the incident.