What is the store address? I will buy more things from the owner
GATINEAU — When two men wearing masks and hoods came into Zhen Yang’s depanneur in Gatineau brandishing knives, he reached for the bear spray instead of the cash.
Security footage of Tuesday’s night foiled robbery attempt shows Yang unleashing a yellowish brown liquid on his attackers. Later, one man is seen with his pants down and his bare behind in the air as Yang holds him down.
“The first thing you have to do is protect yourself. Safety first,” Yang told the Citizen on Wednesday night.
Two men have been arrested in relation to the attempted armed robbery at
301 Laramée St., according to Gatineau police.
On Wednesday night, regular customers came into
Ja.c.line depanneur to congratulate Yang for protecting his business.
Yang told the Citizen that he “cannot even remember” how many times he’s been robbed in the six years he’s owned the depanneur, usually for small items like beer and cigarettes. However, once a thief made off with $1,000 cash and scratch lottery tickets in a gun-point robbery; another time his wife, who was then seven months pregnant, was attacked with pepper spray.
“We can see now, the criminals are much more than before. It’s so easy for them to get the money and they keep coming back more and more,” Yang said. “This time, I just did the best that I can do.”
The video shows two men approach the counter at 10:37 p.m. and lean in toward the cash register, pointing knives at Yang. When Yang reaches for the bear spray, the man wearing a black hoodie hops over the counter.
Yang sprays both men — the man in a plaid hoodie brings his hands to his face and stumbles out view while the man in a black hoodie lunges at Yang in the small space behind the counter. Yang fights back by launching a chair at his attacker, then tries to throw the man over the counter, stomach first.
In the struggle, the man’s pants slip down and his bare behind is exposed.
At this point, Yang’s wife comes down from the apartment above the depanneur, where the couple lives with their one- and two-year old children.
“I saw my husband was really angry. He was catching the guy,” Lisa Liang told the Citizen on Wednesday. She had been on the phone with her husband when the line went dead. She came down to the depanneur to make sure he was OK, she said.
The video shows her kick the man in the black hoodie a couple of times as he tries to wriggle free of her husband’s grip. Another customer in the depanneur is then seen helping Yang hold the man down.
The day after the armed robbery, the store was open for its regular hours — 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
“I’m still shaking but I’m back to work. I have two babies, that’s why,” Yang said.
Police arrested a 31-year-old man at the depanneur. He appeared in court on Wednesday and was charged with armed robbery and wearing a disguise, police said.
A second suspect was arrested on Wednesday. He will appear in court Thursday to face charges of armed robbery and wearing a disguise.
Despite the arrests, Gatineau police recommend that people comply with demands during an armed robbery and instead try to remember as many details as possible about the thieves, including the direction in which they flee.