Jan 12, 2010 10:22 pm US/Central
Woman To Robber: In The Name Of Jesus,
Get Out
FRISCO (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
It was a frightening scenario for a North
Texas business owner and her customer. A man
barged into her store and pulled out a gun.
The entire incident was caught on tape, but
it's what happens when the would-be robber
made his demands that is truly incredible.
The incident unfolded at a shopping center
on Legacy Drive in Frisco. While the story
ends well, police said that they don't
suggest taking the actions of the two women
involved.
The women were still shaken Tuesday night,
but proud of what they did.
Just a few minutes after Marian Chadwick put
the 'closed' sign on her store's door, the
door opened. A man with a gun walked in and
demanded money.
Chadwick has owned the Extravagant
Necessities Boutique for seven years. She
calls it a store for girlfriends.
The gunman walked into the store as Chadwick
was helping her final customer of the day.
"He was all bundled up and I thought, 'It's
not that cold to be so bundled up.' And as
he got closer, it just kind of all
registered," she recalled.
The man in the hooded sweatshirt wore
sunglasses and started pointing a gun.
Chadwick remembers the exchange she had with
the man. "We thought it was a joke," she
said. "He comes in and says, 'Give me your
money!' And I said, 'There's no money. It's
all gone.' And he said, 'No, I'm serious. I
want your money!' And I said, 'No.'"
The gunman became irate and started pounding
on the glass counter with the gun, but
Chadwick wasn't fazed. "I looked him
straight in the eye and I said, 'In the name
of Jesus, I command you to get out of my
store. You are bound by the Holy Spirit and
you are leaving.'"
As Chadwick argued with the gunman, her
customer, Kathy Vereen, soon had attention
pointed her way. "He started backing up and
then he pointed the gun at me and said, 'Get
down on the floor.' And I remember thinking,
'I don't think so,'" said Vereen.
The frustrated gunman turned and left the
store with nothing. No shots were fired and
no one was injured.
Vereen said that she knows how she and
Chadwick escaped unharmed. "I was just so
completely in awe about how God did protect
us," she said unwaveringly.
Law enforcement officials advise that
victims comply with the demands of a robber.
But Chadwick said that her reaction was
instinctive. "My fleeting moment, that I can
even remember, was there's no guarantee. If
I gave him the money, there's no guarantee
that he wouldn't shoot me anyway. So, let's
go the hard way then."
It is believed that the gunman drove away in
a silver car, possibly a Kia. Police said
that the suspect matches the description of
someone who may have struck in Plano,
Richardson, Allen and another Frisco
business.
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