One day after two black robbers were shot at the Phuoc Loc Tho Asian Garden Mall, a Vietnamese market located in Orange County, California, the shop owner who foiled the robbery says his family are safe thanks to God’s protection.

Hong Quang Tan, owner of the Tick Tock Watches store.

Hong Quang Tan, owner of the Tick Tock Watches store that was targeted by the robbers, said: “Two people entered my shop, one of them was on a wheelchair. At first, a robber pointed his gun at my adopted daughter. After hearing shouts from other people, I and another daughter held two guns and stood in two different corners, pointing our guns at the armed robber and ordered him three times to drop his gun.”

“A moment later, I shot him and ordered his accomplice to get down on the ground and he followed,” Tan continued.

“We kept pointing guns at him because we did not know how many guns he was carrying. When we managed to get the gun out of his reach, he ran away but was arrested by locals.”

Jimmy Nguyen, who was having coffee at Lee’s Sandwiches facing Tick Tock, said: “I heard a gunshot and saw Tan pointing his gun at the two black guys. One of them ignored Tan’s order and managed to flee. Afterward, another took off his bloody T-shirt, opened the glass window, and ran away.”

Jimmy added police were not yet in the mall at the time while the mall’s security guards ran away because they did not have guns.

“At the time of the gunfire, I let the suspected robbers escape because Tan had it under control. Though everybody ran away, I and a friend of mine still sat there to see what was happening. I witnessed it from start to finish,” Jimmy said.

“I did not help Tan because it was not my work and because Tan had the situation under control,” Jimmy explained after being asked why he did not give any help.

Tan said during the 26 years he has run Tick Tock, he and other family members as well as employees are well-prepared for any situation, even in a life-threatening situation.

“But in that dangerous situation, God really helped us,” Tan said.

Support gun use

Tan was happy to share his experiences in foiling such a robbery.

“I think everyone has a right to use guns at home or outside. If you are not allowed to bring a gun outside, you should not. But in my opinion, everybody must be armed with a gun to defend themselves or to protect their family, employees, and customers,” Tan said.

“Remember to try to give warning signals in the form of codes, winks or other body languages,” the shop owner advised.

“If one gives just a wink, the other will understand what he should do. So, I handled the situation well,” Tan said.

Tam said the recent gunfire does not have any negative effect on his business.

“There are a lot of gun-related incidents in Vietnamese community so locals are familiar with it. If a gunshot happens inside a house, many people will curiously gather outside. They are not too much worried [about the dangers they can face],” Tan said.

He added: “I think the Vietnamese should not worry about the incident. Yesterday, a lot of customers including strangers visited my store. I also received congratulations from many Americans. Actually, I am not proud of it at all because no one wants to see it happen. But, God has kept us safe.”

Back to normal

The mall resumes normal operation as if nothing happened, a familiar source told Tuoitrenews.

Lyna Le, who works at the mall’s management board, says: “Everybody is back to work. It is the first time in 25 years that armed robbers have attacked a shop at Phuoc Loc Tho mall.”

Another shop owner named Chuong who runs jewelry shop Ngoc Quang nearby, said: “We still run our own businesses as normal. Hundreds of customers visited my shop today. I have run the business here for 15 years and the incident like this is normal.

Chuong, owner of Ngoc Quang jewelry shop

When the shooting happened, I pulled down the door for safety reasons and told my customers that nothing happened.”

But when asked whether or not they want to buy a gun for self-defense, some say “no”.

Nguyen Kim Chau, who works at Asian Garden Fast Food, says: “Our shop is still open today. I found this mall safe. But I do not dare buy a gun.”

Source: Tuoi Tre News