Stop or the senior citizen will shoot! Moment 71-year-old gunman shot two robbers as they tried to hold up Florida internet cafe By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 21:28 EST, 17 July 2012 | UPDATED: 04:29 EST, 18 July 2012
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A 71-year old man thwarted a robbery at a Florida internet cafe on Friday when he shot two would-be assailants and the entire ordeal was captured on security tape.
The two robbers burst through the doors of the Palms Internet Cafe in Ocala and ordered everyone to get down as they waved a handgun at dozens of customers.
But they didn't expect Samuel Williams to pull out his own weapon and fire, injuring both of the criminals and saving the lives of his fellow Floridians.
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Robbers: A 71-year old man thwarted a robbery at a Florida internet cafe on Friday when he shot two would-be assailants and the entire ordeal was captured on security tape
Hero: They didn't expect Samuel Williams to pull out his own weapon and fire, injuring both of the criminals and saving the lives of his fellow Floridians
Fox reports that the incident occurred just after 10 pm. on Friday.
The surveillance video shows the two men wearing dark clothes barged into the cafe with a baseball bat and a gun.
Witnesses told police that the robbers demanded that the 30 patrons get down on the floor and give them money.
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Terrified customers put their hands up in the air, all of them following orders except for Mr Williams.
Kneeling slightly, Mr Williams starts shooting at the men, surprising them with his own attack.
The thugs scramble to exit, falling over each other as Mr Williams chases them out of the cafe.
Hurt: Davis G. Dawkins, 19, right, and Duwayne Henderson, 19, left, were hospitalized for their injuries
Entry: The surveillance video shows the two men wearing dark clothes barge into the cafe with a baseball bat and a gun
Robbery: Witnesses told police that the robbers demanded that the 30 patrons get down on the floor and give them money
Once he had sufficiently scared them off, he locked the door and waited for the police to come.
The two men got into a nearby car and fled, witnesses said.
Mr Williams told officers that he was scared the robbers would hurt someone, especially his wife who was sitting nearby him in the cafe.
Officers got a phone call shortly after about two men at a Marion Oaks home who were telling people they had been shot at a nearby baseball field in Ocala.
Investigators searched the field to find evidence of an attack, but found none and arrested the men.
Fight Back: Terrified customers put their hands up in the air, all of them following orders except for Mr Williams
Chase: Kneeling slightly, Mr Williams starts shooting at the men, surprising them with his own attack
Davis G. Dawkins, 19, and Duwayne Henderson, 19, were transported to Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
In the heat of the moment, Mr Williams managed to shoot Dawkins' left arm and Henderson's left buttock and his right hip.
Neither one of the teens have a criminal record, authorities said, and both were charged with attempted robbery.
Pursuit: The thugs scramble to exit, falling over each other as Mr Williams chases them out of the cafe
'I feel horrible. It doesn't feel good. It makes you think about life's decisions, and how you should live your life,' Henderson said to the Star-Banner at the jail on Saturday afternoon.
The teen said that they didn't plan to hurt anyone during the robbery, just grab some money and run.
'The gun was broken and rusty and wasn't loaded. Nobody was going to get hurt,' he told the paper; the plan was to 'barge in, get the money and leave.'
He said that neither of the two teens ever 'expected anyone to be armed.'
Safe: Once he had sufficiently scared them off, he locked the door and waited for the police to come
The two had started to collect cellphones to prevent patrons from calling the police when Mr Williams started shooting.
'I thought I was going to die,' he said. 'I turned around to run and my leg gave out. That was when I got shot. I hit the ground, and he was still shooting.'
The two escaped to a family friend's home in Marion Oaks where the residents called police.
Dawkins told officials that he had recently been an employee at the cafe but was fired, allegedly telling his friend Henderson that there was 'a lot of money there.'
'If he wouldn’t have been there, there could have been some innocent people shot.'
Cafe Customer, Mary Beach
The two hatched their plan to rob the cafe on Friday evening, police said.
Henderson remained in jail late Monday after failing to post $31,000 bond while Dawkins was released Sunday after posting an $11,000 bond.
Charges are not expected to be filed against Mr Williams.
'If he wouldn’t have been there, there could have been some innocent people shot,' Mary Beach, one of the would-be victims of the robbery told the Star-Banner. 'I think he is wonderful.'
Henderson, not surprisingly, isn't enthralled with Mr Williams. He thinks that the elderly man should have stopped shooting once he was already on the ground.
'I was down, and I’m not going to continue to shoot you,' he said.
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