Seungae Kim reached for the first thing she could get her hands on.

The 69-year-old who owns and operates A&J Convenience in Cooksville with her husband, was eating a banana behind the counter around 9 p.m. Saturday night when a man walked in with his face covered and demanded she open the cash register.

When she told him “you’re not getting money,” he tried to vault the counter to get to the till. That’s when she sprung into action.

“I had to do something so I reached for whatever was there,” she said. “I hit him hard with the bananas and he ran away.”

She said she “kept swinging and swinging” until the suspect retreated and even then, she felt the need to throw the tropical fruit at him as he escaped.

She said she was less concerned about the cash in the till and more concerned with protecting her husband.

The suspect fled on foot empty-handed.

Kim was getting kudos Monday morning from customers who frequent the tiny store near Hurontario St. and Hillcrest Ave.

“She’s a champ. Wow, so brave,” said Kelly Rawlins, who lives on nearby Jaguar Valley Drive and pops into the store weekly.

“No one is going to mess with her.”

Neither Peel Region police nor Kim believe the suspect was armed with a weapon.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The running joke among Rawlins, police and other customers was that the would-be robber was hit with bananas and then split.

Although no one was hurt, Const. Akhil Mooken said the incident isn’t a laughing matter and that store employees should think twice about getting into a physical confrontation with suspects.

The hunt for the suspect continues. Anyone with information can call police at 905-453-3311.

Read more about: