It's hard to believe less than 24 hours ago, jewelry shop owner Michael Le was running for his life from an armed gunman.
"He show me the gun in my face I scared already," said Le. When asked if he was nervous to return. "No, no yeah."
But if he was, surveillance video of an armed robbery attempt explains why. Le says the man entered the store at 10:53 Wednesday and at first was pleasant.
"He asked me for jewelry," said Le the owner of Gold Club and Gifts at the Town Center at Milililani. "He asked my for big diamond but I had none."
When he told the suspect he did not have a big diamond set the man pulled out a gun.
"I run back here but he said, stop, stop stop! But he follow, follow over here."
Surveillance video shows the suspect chasing him down.
"He catch me, he catch me right here and I fall down right here," said Le. "I fight back with him, then he hit me in my head. And then we fall down but I'm still scared."
He says he was pistol whipped twice before they went over a display case. "In the head right here -- blood -- right two yeah."
Sgt. Kim Buffett of CrimeStoppers says the video and photos from the store's four cameras show a clear image of the suspect.
"We believe that he's between 20-to-30 years old, about 6-2 to 6-4, 260 to 270 pounds," said Buffett. "It's clear enough that somebody will know this person."
Le's daughter is hoping someone comes forward.
"Yesterday I was kind of pissed off, I wish I just hope they catch him today," said Vivian Le. "If you guys see him just call the cops already."
"It's a brazen robbery daylight hours in a populated shopping center," said Buffett. "Thank God that he wasn't shot because he was being chased with a gun."
Le and his brother have operated two jewelry stores at the shopping center for the past 17 years. This is the second time his store has been robbed in less than a year. Last May, a man who told Le he had a gun attempted to rob the store. He says that man was much smaller than he was so he was able to fight him off. Le, who practices tae kwon do, says the suspect in Wednesday's robbery was too big to fight.
"Six-feet four over 250 pounds, I cannot fight him, I no can."
If you have any information call CrimeStoppers at #955-8300
