Doug Kennedy Captures Sword-Wielding Robber, Cops Say (VIDEO)

The good samaritan is mightier than the sword.

WTKR reports that Doug Kennedy chased down a sword-wielding thief after he and an accomplice allegedly tried to make off with electronics from a Best Buy store in Virginia Beach, Va.

"I just thought, you know, it's not going to happen," Kennedy told the station. "So I just tried to tackle the guy."

Kennedy said he did tackle the man, but then the would-be thief started swinging a one-foot-long sword.

Though the sword didn't pierce Kennedy's skin, it did cause him to roll away, letting the suspect loose in the process, the Virginia Pilot reported.

The alleged thief then ran across a multi-lane boulevard. And Kennedy again gave chase.

"I kind of played 'Frogger' getting across," Kennedy told the Pilot. "I thought, there's no way he's gonna outrun me."

It was then that another noble passerby brought the fleeing thief to the ground, WVEC reports.

"He got a hold of him, I jumped on the guy too and got my foot on his hand and yanked the knife out of his hand," Kennedy told WVEC.

The teenage robber Kennedy helped apprehend was charged with armed robbery, conspiracy and two counts of attempt malicious assault.

His accomplice, who was apprehended by police, was charged with robbery, according to the Pilot.

Comments

[lizp33558]

05:52 AM on 02/21/2012

im think what he did was great

[dbrett480]

07:46 PM on 02/19/2012

Really, a sword? This knucklehead manages to get an armed robbery charge without even having a gun.

[keep it solid]

09:03 AM on 02/19/2012

Bravo Mr. Kennedy!

[bridgeman]

07:30 AM on 02/19/2012

He bears a slight resemblance to "the kennedy's"

[wolfnus]

03:48 PM on 02/18/2012

The NRA is going to be really upset about this. First, the robber did not even bother to obtain a gun. What kind of "armed robbery" is THAT? Secondly, the guys who chased and caught the robber did not have guns, either. It is easy to get a concealed weapon permit in Virginia. Doug Kennedy SHOULD have been armed. That way, he could have fired off a couple of rounds and killed that kid, probably his accomplice, too. Now, the taxpayers will have to pay to keep them in jail at government expense. More people should have hand guns--college students, mature high school students, teachers, nurses, letter carriers, etc. If average folks would arm themselves and take law enforcement into their own hands, SHOOT the criminals and psychos, the crime rate would drop a lot. And I'll bet that VERY few innocent people will be caught in cross fires IF they exercise some caution and duck quickly.

[thorrsman]

04:44 PM on 02/18/2012

Wrong.

On so many levels..

At what grade in elementary school did you quite, and how many years were you in that grade before you gave up?

[mdh461]

03:35 PM on 02/18/2012

The Lone Ranger is back.

[thorrsman]

04:46 PM on 02/18/2012

Uh, no. The Lone ranger would have shot the knife out of the man's hand--without injuring him--from a safe distance.

But silver bullets are so hard to come by today, what with the rising cost of silver. And experiments show that they are not all that accurate anyway.

[mdh461]

06:48 PM on 02/18/2012

Great. He would have used his horse Silver to catch the guy.

[jolyjungle]

02:45 PM on 02/18/2012

Yeah good job . But, a shoplifting teen could have turned your son and wife into a fatherless family. You could have been sliced or stabbed to death or even hit by a car and maimed or killed. It is not worth risking your life to capture a knife wielder that basically ripped off a Best Buy. Let the police get the guy. Luckily it turned out ok.

[Bob Macfarlane]

02:55 PM on 02/18/2012

Yes, it is worth risking your life over.

[Bob Macfarlane]

02:58 PM on 02/18/2012

Besides, when seconds count the police are normally just minutes away.

[caloy2x]

02:41 PM on 02/18/2012

The 'good samaritan' just wanted his ipad being held for layaway recovered from this ninja guy- wielding samurai.

[coreyr]

01:45 PM on 02/18/2012

Wow, I am amazed! Not at the guy tackeling the "robber" but, rather, at the fool trying to rob a store, in Virginia, with a knife like that. Thankfully, the Old Dominion is a "shall issue" state, for concealed carry permits, and this moron is incredibly lucky that he did not get shot by an armed citizen.
Of course, that would have saved the taxpayers the cost of a trial and wasted moeny on incarceration. Maybe I am just a little tired of jerks who think they have some right to take what belongs to others?

[Bob Macfarlane]

02:57 PM on 02/18/2012

We have the same in Florida and open carry in Georgia. Seems like the idiots would know better than to bring a knife to what could turn out to be a gun fight.

[xgomazx]

01:36 PM on 02/18/2012

A one foot long sword?
Sounds like whats called a Pompeii Gladius. ( roman short sword)
It would seem someone has been watching too much Spartacus

[rcapitalsim]

01:31 PM on 02/18/2012

dont rob me with a sword,you will get S=H=O=T a lot if you do.

[seabeeutcn]

01:18 PM on 02/18/2012

I demand sword control immediately, and ban all tv and movies that promote sword violence.

[fd909]

01:18 PM on 02/18/2012

Good job, guys.

[ghs9718117]

11:42 AM on 02/18/2012

Way to go...as a 60 year old female, I think if we had more take action people like yourself we would have less crime...I honestly think many are just crimes of opportunity...

[NOCELL]

11:09 AM on 02/18/2012

whoops..............