Police say an Iraq War veteran thwarted two would-be burglars at his northern Michigan gas station by kicking one of them and ordering them away with an AR-15 rifle.

State police said Shawn Schank was inside the gas station about 4:10 a.m. Sunday in Shingleton, an Upper Peninsula community in Alger County, when two people wearing ski masks forced their way into the building and approached the cash register.

Police say Schank kicked one of them, retrieved the AR-15 from his office and ordered the burglars to leave.

Police say one of the burglars took off his mask and pleaded with Schank not to shoot him before both suspects fled on foot.

Police say they arrested a 17-year-old from Shingleton and an 18-year-old from Munising. They're jailed pending charges.