Spring breakers turn tables on armed robber at Florida gas station

Author: CBS News
Published:
Spring breakers fight back robber. (Credit: BSO)
Spring breakers fight back robber. (Credit: BSO)

Four young men spending their spring break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were confronted by a gunman, but instead of giving into his demands, they fought back. The Broward Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday released surveillance footage of the March 17 incident at a Mobil gas station on Oakland Park Boulevard.

The video showed a man exiting a vehicle with a covering over his face. He approaches the group of young men and brandishes what appears to be a handgun. The victims told police he said, “Give me everything you got.” A struggle ensued and the young men tackled the suspect to the ground.

A second suspect, identified by police as Kevin Campbell, rushed to help the gunman. But during the struggle, the armed man dropped his gun. One of the victims picked it up and pointed at the two suspects, who eventually fled the scene.

“It didn’t seem real. It seemed like it was out of a movie,” Alec Tanoos said in a news conference, CBS Miami reported.

The victims, who are all related, were able to give police the license plate of the suspect’s vehicle and Campbell was arrested later that day. He faces several charges, including robbery with a firearm.

“We’re trying to wrestle around for the gun, I finally got my hand on the gun, and I jerk it away. At this time, the (second) guy had came up,” Aric Wisbey said. “He did raise his hands. He was telling me, ‘Give me the gun. We’ll just leave.'”

Police are still searching for the gunman, who remains at large. They described him as 6 feet tall, 210 pounds with a stocky build, dark complexion and dreadlocks. Police said his silver Taurus 9mm handgun was stolen in 2017.

Police said that robbery victims should never do what these young men did because it could have deadly consequences, CBS Miami reported.

Three of the men were visiting Fort Lauderdale from Terre Haute, Indiana. They said none of them were never afraid. “I know that there was a possibility we could be shot and killed. I knew that. That’s my family. We’d die for each other,” Alex Wisby said.

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