Barista Hits Would-Be Robber With A Cart, Takes Bear Spray To The Face Then Throws Him On The Floor

With San Francisco more concerned with important things like “weight stigma,” crime continues to be a concern for most of the citizens in the city. That’s the bad news. The good news is there are some fighting back.

A barista at Carlin’s Cafe on Friday morning witnessed a guy wearing a mask casually walk into the establishment, grab a backpack belonging to a customer who was sitting at a table, and try to walk out with it.

The would-be robber, armed with bear spray, probably thought he was going to be able to easily pull off the crime with little to no resistance. It’s a coffee spot in San Francisco after all.

He was wrong. The barista behind the counter wasn’t about to let this loser grab his customer’s bag and leave without doing anything about it. He grabbed a cart, hit the robber with it, then did battle.

The barista wrestled with the man, started throwing punches, then took bear spray directly to the face without flinching. This guy picked the wrong time to come into this coffee shop.

The barista, who was later identified as Nick Grant, then threw the would-be robber to the floor where he held him until police arrived. Thankfully, officers arrested the robber and not the hero barista for fighting back.

This barista has some combat training and put it to good use to stop this would-be robber

“Luckily I came with a cart, hit him with a cart, and then from there we just started fighting. He bear-maced me, we rolled around on the ground for a little bit and I held him until the cops came,” said Grant, reports KTVU. 

The day after the incident, he was back at work, although admittedly more sore than he was the day before. He said, “I’m a little sore this morning. I’m still coughing out bear mace. But I’m good. I’m not going to let anybody like that stop me from doing what I love.”

Grant told KTVU that he has a background in security and combat training. He also said that this type of crime isn’t new to the area and police response times aren’t the best.

“I’m just happy I was there. You know it’s one of those things that folks can look away in certain situations, or you can have the moment to act, and I want people to feel more empowered to act,” said the barista. 

San Francisco police identified the would-be robber as 42-year-old Amir Moner. He was booked into the county jail for attempted robbery and other related charges. Surprise, surprise. He also had active warrants in other counties.