A brother-and-sister team of Good Samaritans risked their lives to stop a wrench-wielding robber at a local pizza shop in Jersey City, the store owner says.
Owner Wagih Girgis said he didn't suspect anything unusual when a regular customer came into his shop on Kennedy Boulevard Saturday morning. Then the man closed the door behind him and demanded cash.
"When he said, 'I want the money,' I said,' OK,'" said Girgis. "I give him the money."
But when the robber moved to hit Girgis with an 18-inch pipe wrench, Girgis attempted to grab the weapon from him, leading to a lengthy struggle on the floor with the suspect as the father of three tried to spare himself from harm.
Even in distress, Girgis said he saw people walk by who could have stopped to help. But only two did -- a brother and sister being hailed as Good Samaritans.
Allen McCord was about to take his sister Sherie Goodman to work when she spotted the struggle next door. She tipped off police as he sprang into action.
"Once my brother went inside, it kind of scared me, and I just panicked and called 911," said Goodman.
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McCord said he ripped the assailant's shirt to remove the wrench.
"I pretty much just told the guy, 'Go sit down, the cops are on the way. You might as well sit down and have a seat," he said. "And I told the store owner to calm down."
It's back to business for Girgis as his alleged robber is behind bars: the 18-year-old suspect is facing charges including robbery and unlawful possession of a weapon.
While he continues to express thanks to the duo who kept a bad situation from getting worse, the brother and sister are humbly shrugging off their actions as something any good neighbor would do.
"I'm sure anybody else would have done the same," said McCord.
"It was just something, a gut feeling, a gut reaction I had to do at the time," he said.
