In a display of quick thinking and bravery, a San Francisco cafe employee successfully thwarted a robbery attempt and detained the suspect until law enforcement arrived at the scene.
The incident occurred Friday morning at Carlin’s Cafe when Nick Grant, a cafe employee, noticed a masked individual attempting to steal a customer’s backpack.
“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.
The entire sequence was captured by the coffee shop’s surveillance cameras. A fellow customer joined in to assist Grant, who maintained control of the situation for seven minutes until police arrived on the scene.
The suspect was identified as 42-year-old Amir Moner from Concord. According to San Francisco police, Moner was taken to San Francisco County Jail and faces charges of attempted robbery, along with other related charges. He also had active warrants in other counties.
Despite the ordeal, Grant returned to work the following morning. “I’m a little sore this morning. I’m still coughing out bear mace. But I’m good,” he said. “I’m not going to let anybody like that stop me from doing what I love.”
Local community members showed their support, with customers noting Grant’s minor head injury. One patron from the nearby Black Heart tattoo shop visited specifically to express solidarity after viewing the video on social media.
“I think it makes you happy that there’s someone who cares about someone who could’ve been a stranger to him, his backpack or whatever it was. I think that’s pretty cool,” said Alejandra Ramirez, a customer.
Grant, who has previous security and combat training experience, explained that such incidents aren’t uncommon in the neighborhood, noting historical issues with police response times.
“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 Grant.
