A Subway restaurant in Illinois has suspended an employee who defended herself against would-be robbers while on the job.
Security cameras captured employee Araceli Sotelo at the Subway restaurant in Rockford, Illinois, fighting for her life Sunday morning. She was the only person working at the time.
“He kind of just showed me his gun. And I was like freaking out, like, ‘Woah, you can’t do that. Please leave,’” Sotelo told WTVO. “[The robber said], ‘Give me all the money.’ And I said, ‘I do not have any money. Like, I do not have any money!’ That is all I had. And he was just like, ‘Give me everything before I hurt you.’”
Sotelo said she was afraid she wouldn’t make it out alive. When the man grabbed her purse, she decided to fight back.
“He was smaller than me, so I have that advantage. I’m bigger than him, so I could at least put my weight on him, push him, or something,” Sotelo told the news station.
While trying to restrain him, the robber’s gun fell.
“He dropped it trying to hold onto my purse. And I end up pulling his sweatshirt off him, and I was like, ‘Show your face! Show your face! You are on camera!’” Sotelo continued. “He was like, ‘Here, you can have your purse back, just give me back my stuff.’”
“He wanted me to give him back his gun and his clothes. I just hit him on the head with it. That is what he was doing to me,” she admitted.
Someone uploaded a security video of the attempted robbery and scuffle to the Internet. Sotelo said the store’s management contacted her and asked her to remove the footage or face suspension. Sotelo, who claims she did not post the video, said she has “no ability” to delete it. She believes the franchise owner wanted to keep the incident hidden from Subway’s corporate office.
The owner of the Subway franchise location has ignored WTVO’s requests for comment. Audacy has reached out to Subway’s corporate office for a response.
Police said they were investigating.
Related
Related
