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A 70-year-old Vietnam vet foiled a robbery at a north Carolina waffle house after engaging a bizarre duel with the thief's AK-47, which turned out to be a fake.
Phillip Brooks was enjoying his breakfast in his regular seat near the cash register when a gun-wielding man rushed in and announced a robbery.
But the brave former foot soldier immediately recognized that the gun was a fake because 'all the parts were missing' and told staff not to give him anything, reported WRAL-TV.
While the other customers - including a mother and her two children - scrambled for safety, Brooks decided to stand up to him.
After he called out the weapon for being a fake, the robber replied: 'Well, I'm for real' and began brandishing the phony gun at Brooks.
He told the station: 'I showed him how real I was. I hit him in the nose with my cane.'
The two then engaged in a bizarre duel between cane and phony firearm.
Other customers soon jumped in and chased the robber, who was as described as black, with a light complexion, a thin build and dreadlocks, out of the restaurant.
Brooks came out of the tussle unharmed - minus a small bruise on his hand - and credited his military training for his quick thinking.
For his first three years of service, Brooks was in the infantry and did two tours of Vietnam - so got 'to see a lot of Ak-47s', he said.
The incident occurred at 5.20am Saturday April 2.
The robber is still at large and thought to be between 18 and 25 years old, last seen wearing a black-and-gray hooded sweatshirt with a red hooded sweatshirt underneath, gray pants and a yellow bandanna over his face.
A spokeswoman for the Waffle House chain says restaurant officials are thankful no one was hurt.
Phillip Brooks was enjoying his breakfast in his regular seat near the cash register when a gun-wielding man rushed in and announced a robbery.
But the brave former foot soldier immediately recognized that the gun was a fake because 'all the parts were missing' and told staff not to give him anything, reported WRAL-TV.
While the other customers - including a mother and her two children - scrambled for safety, Brooks decided to stand up to him.
After he called out the weapon for being a fake, the robber replied: 'Well, I'm for real' and began brandishing the phony gun at Brooks.
He told the station: 'I showed him how real I was. I hit him in the nose with my cane.'
The two then engaged in a bizarre duel between cane and phony firearm.
Other customers soon jumped in and chased the robber, who was as described as black, with a light complexion, a thin build and dreadlocks, out of the restaurant.
Brooks came out of the tussle unharmed - minus a small bruise on his hand - and credited his military training for his quick thinking.
For his first three years of service, Brooks was in the infantry and did two tours of Vietnam - so got 'to see a lot of Ak-47s', he said.
The incident occurred at 5.20am Saturday April 2.
The robber is still at large and thought to be between 18 and 25 years old, last seen wearing a black-and-gray hooded sweatshirt with a red hooded sweatshirt underneath, gray pants and a yellow bandanna over his face.
A spokeswoman for the Waffle House chain says restaurant officials are thankful no one was hurt.
