GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County Chick-fil-A employee who fought off an armed robbery suspect credits his self-defense training for keeping him alive and helping police make an arrest.
Surveillance video released by Gwinnett County Police on Wednesday shows the moments Kevin Blair fought off the masked man with a gun for three minutes until the suspect ran away. The incident happened on July 1 but authorities arrested the 53-year-old suspect on Wednesday.
“He told me if I didn’t open up the safe, I was going to die,” said Blair, an inventory director for Chick-fil-A.
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He was at work at the location on Stone Mountain Highway near Davis Road at around 4:30 in the morning on July 1 when he says someone broke in through the drive-through window by smashing the window with a rock.
“Guy comes up behind me with a gun to the back of my head and tells me to open the safe,” he said.
Blair told him he didn’t know the combination. When the suspect pointed the gun at his face, Blair used two and a half years of self-defense and karate training to fight back.
“It’s not worth taking that risk that he’s willing to pull the trigger,” he said. “I was fortunate he was standing close enough that I could get my hands on his wrist and keep control of the gun and keep it pointed away from me.”
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The fight lasts for about three minutes before the suspect runs away from the restaurant then gets into a vehicle. During the fight, Blair was able to remove the man’s mask which helped police identify him.
On Wednesday, Gwinnett County Sheriff’s deputies and U.S. Marshals arrested 53-year-old Tommie Lee Williams and charged him with armed robbery among other charges.
“I’m glad he’s off the streets,” said Blair.
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Blair says he has received support from his employer and looks forward to returning back to work soon.
It was the fight of his life and he says he’s glad he at least had training for it.
“Hopefully you never have to use it,” he said, “but in the event that you do, that tool is in your bag.”
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