Would-be store robber calls police after being yelled at by employee

A would-be convenience store robber called police and turned himself in after being reprimanded by an employee in Fukushima, Japan on Tuesday morning. According to police, Takashi Owata entered a Sunkus convenience store and demanded cash from a 59-year-old female employee. The woman told police she glared at the man and yelled, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

According to police, Owata threatened the woman with a wooden stick, but left the store without any money after she yelled at him. He then called police from his mobile phone and confessed to trying to rob the store.

The nearest police station was a mere 400 meters from the convenience store, and Owata turned himself in. The wooden stick was found in a flower bed in front of the store. At the time of the incident, there were three customers in the store in addition to the manager and one employee.

On Sept 25, police held a seminar teaching convenience store employees how to deal with robberies. One official said, “The woman’s calm demeanor during the incident was likely highly effective.”