Graphic surveillance video footage has revealed how the owner of a Las Vegas vape store apparently defended himself from an unidentified assailant by repeatedly stabbing him with a knife.
Two men wearing black ski masks entered Johnny Nguyen’s Smokestrom Smoke Shop on West Sahara near Decatur around 3:25 p.m. on Wednesday, with a third remaining by the door, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officials cited by the New York Post.
WARNING: The following video is extremely graphic and may offend sensibilities.
In the video footage, Nguyen, 22, is heard asking the two robbery suspects why they are wearing masks. When the two fail to respond to his question, Nguyen asks them “to just leave.”
At this point one of the suspects, identified since as juveniles, can be seen grabbing the tip jar off the counter by the cash register and walking toward the door.
Nguyen is heard telling the mask-wearing suspect to “leave the coins.” The other "juvenile" then leaps over the counter in what appears to be an attempt to snatch some products off the shelf. Nguyen can be seen grabbing a sharp object lying next to the register, running towards the suspect, and apparently stabbing him at least seven times.
“Stop, please! I’m dead! I’m dead,” the suspected thief is heard exclaiming before collapsing to the floor.
The vape store owner then leaves the masked assailant near the front door and proceeds to call 911. In the surveillance footage the stabbed individual can be heard asking the owner “don’t let me die.”
Police have since arrested the juveniles, while the person who was supposedly stabbed by the owner with a three-inch blade was rushed to hospital. According to the police, the suspected robber was 17 years old and his condition was not clear.
Speaking to The Post, Johnny Nguyen described how he feared for his life when the suspects entered his store.
“When they came in, one of them had a bag in front of him like he had a firearm or something… I asked them first nicely to leave but the guy took my tip jar, which was fine… When they came back and tried to take some more, that’s when it escalated.”
According to Nguyen, he “didn’t have much time to think” as he grabbed the knife “right next to the register.”
“I remember him saying, ‘Please don’t let me die.' He said he was sorry. By that point, he took off his mask himself. I was trying to get on the phone with the police when he was trying to talk to me. I just ran and wanted to make sure the police and ambulance would get here on time,” Nguyen said.