Fighting a robber...while in a

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Fighting a robber...while in a wheelchair

   On the evening of November 6th, 2010, Larry Skopnik was shopping in the relatively empty Commercial Drive Food Stop store. A nervous-looking man in a black shirt was at the counter, wanting to buy cigarettes. He handed the store owner, Cindy Grewal, a $50 bill. She immediately recognized it as fake and told him she refused to accept the money as payment. The man denied the bill was fake and demanded she give it back to him, but Cindy insisted on calling the police first and having them settle the conflict. This angered the man. He started swearing and arguing with Cindy. He then told her that he was going to rob the store and got behind the counter, where he proceeded to threaten Cindy with physical violence.
   Having seen the robber preparing to physically attack Cindy, Larry immediately reacted. He wheeled himself over to them, got behind the counter and pulled the man away from her, wrestling him into a headlock. The robber pulled Larry out of his wheelchair and onto the ground. After a few seconds of struggling, Larry managed to get on top of the criminal and hold him down. A store employee and two other customers rushed to help him and took over, holding down the robber while Cindy called the police. They kept him from escaping until the police arrived and arrested him.
   Larry is humble about what he did and doesn't think it should be a big deal. He gave the credit for his deed to his parents, for teaching him to always stand up to bullies.

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