Unfazed kebab shop owner ignored armed bandit and carried on serving customer

A kebab shop owner calmly carried on making souvlaki while a gunman attempted to rob his store in Christchurch, New Zealand. CCTV footage posted by Canterbury police shows Said Ahmed bagging up a souvlaki when a masked and armed robber enters the the Egyptian Kebab House shortly before 11pm on May 28.



Unfazed, Mr Ahmed finished the order, reaching right past the offender to hand it to a customer. Mr Ahmed then calmly turned around and walked away. The would-be robber then left as well, without taking a thing. "He was surprised from my reaction - 'I have come to rob him and he is walking away from me, so what can I do?'" Mr Ahmed said. "I was sure he would not shoot me.





"He came to rob me, not to kill me." Mr Ahmed said at first he thought the man was a customer, smiling at him like he would anyone else. "When he came closer I realised he was wearing a mask on his face, I could see just his eyes." The man retrieved a gun from his backpack, pointed it at Mr Ahmed and demanded money. "When I saw the gun I thought, oh this is different, this is a robbery."



Mr Ahmed walking away seemed to confuse the man, who hesitated, then left the shop. "When he found this reaction from me, I ignored him, I walked to the kitchen and called the police - nothing he can do. He didn't scare me ... he failed, unsuccessful night." Canterbury police posted the video on Thursday afternoon, asking members of the public to help them identify the gunman.

You can watch the CCTV video footage here and a follow-up interview with Mr Ahmed here.