VIDEO: Armed intruder complains after Nanaimo teen responds with swing of a bat

The bat connected with the intruder, knocking the knife from his hand, causing it to fall behind the counter.

The store owner’s live on site in the back of the store, with the commotion causing Lack to come to the front as the suspect headed towards the door.

But when the intruder noticed Lack, he doubled back.

“The guy turns around and goes ‘he just hit me with a bat’ and I asked (Jake) what happened. Jake said ‘he had a knife mom and told me to give him all our money'”.

The suspect eventually left the store empty handed and took off down the street leaving his knife behind.

Lack immediately phoned police.

“(The robber) seemed pretty calm. The police think that it’s the same guy that’s been hitting up Superette. I said (to the RCMP officer) ‘I bet it’s the same guy’ and she said ‘yeah, I’m pretty sure’.”

Superette Foods at the corner of Albert and Milton St. was robbed by a man wearing a mask and brandishing a knife on Thursday, Jan. 26.

A knife was knocked from the would-be robber’s hand after the baseball bat swing, which was then collected by Nanaimo RCMP officers. (submitted photo)

This is the latest example of physical force being used to protect their safety and property from intruders.

Last week, a group of neighbours used yard tools to hold a suspect at bay after a Jan. 25 attempted break-and-enter at a home in Cedar.

The joint action by the neighbours followed what police said was the same suspect receiving substantial injuries at the hands of another homeowner in the Yellow Point area the same day.

Marcel Trudeau, co-owner of Abbies Corner Store, said the suspect was male, at least six feet tall and clean-cut.

Trudeau, who wasn’t at the store at the time, said after he was notified about the incident he posted about it on Facebook and immediately got a big response from people in the community looking for the suspect.

“I went to Tim Horton’s and there were probably 20 homeless people outside there…and I was like ‘Abbie’s just got robbed’. I sent one person a picture, they started sending all around.”

Trudeau said they are big community advocates, and would never say no to someone who might come inside asking for a bite to eat.

“I deal with a lot of homeless people in the area. They come through, we help them out if we can. A lot of them come to talk.”

Karen Lack (left) and Marcel Trudeau (right) co-own Abbie’s Corner Store on Second St. Their son Jake was pivotal in thwarting an armed robbery Wednesday night. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Trudeau and Lack opened Abbies Corner Store less than six months ago, sinking a lot of their savings and doing the labour themselves to get the store up and running.

The building was largely unoccupied for about five years before Trudeau and Lack took over.

He said this incident won’t stop them from operating their business as they always have.

During the interview with NanaimoNewsNOW, a student customer came into the store but was unable to pay for her items at the time. He told the student it was no problem, and to bring the money in when they get it.

While they still have work to do on the back end of their stores which doubles as their home, they hope to one day expand their operations to include a patio and sell poutine.

NanaimoNewsNOW has contacted Nanaimo RCMP for comment on the status of this and other similar investigations.

Abbie’s Corner Store at Second St. and Howard Ave. was the site of an attempted robbery Wednesday night, if not for the actions of a 14-year-old worker at the store. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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by Jordan Davidson

VIDEO: Armed intruder complains after Nanaimo teen responds with swing of a bat

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