A man apparently trying to carry out an armed robbery on a corner shop on Christmas Eve ended up pinned to the floor by the shopkeeper – a black belt in karate – and “begging” to be released.

CCTV footage showed the man threatening Sibu Kuruvilla and an assistant with what appeared to be a pistol inside the shop, before being thrown to the floor. Police later arrived, alerted via the shop’s silent alarm.

“You get to a point where you think you have to do something and you have to react. That is where I thought I could do something and I have the courage to do it,” Kuruvilla said.

Despite the assailant’s pleas, Kuruvilla held him down for about a quarter of an hour – refusing to let him go in case he went to rob another nearby shop.



The incident happened in the branch of Premier Supersaver in Evington, on the outskirts of Leicester. Kuruvilla, 43, was about to close up for the evening when the man shouted at him and his colleague to hand over the day’s takings, waving the gun in the air.



The Premier Supersaver branch. Photograph: Richard Vernalls/PA

He pointed a gun at Kuruvilla’s head and dragged him towards the till. But the married father of two, a 1st dan black belt in Seibukan karate, waited for a chance to snatch the pistol.

He and his colleague then wrestled the attacker into submission, using a leg lock that left the attacker pleading to be released.

Kuruvilla said his teacher had instructed him to tackle people when put in such a situation. “I do a bit of martial arts, I do Seibukan karate, so it is probably because of that I got the courage to tackle him.”

He said his assailant, whom he described as a “big bloke”, was not expecting the sudden attack. “He was thinking: ‘Easy money, two minutes, two grand,’ something like that.”

The shopkeeper, a former chef, said the man was begging to be freed. “He was tired. He gave up I think.” He said the man promised not to return to the shop but Kuruvilla told him: “You will not come back to this shop – but you’ll go to another shop, so I won’t let you go.”

The shopkeeper’s two daughters, aged seven and nine, were locked in the back office during the incident and watched it unfold on CCTV. The experience left them scared and Kuruvilla shaken up, he said.

Of the man he tackled, he added: “I hope he will learn his lessons and move on as a better person.”

Leicestershire police said a 17-year-old male had been arrested in connection with the incident and bailed pending police inquiries.