There’s being laid back, and there’s lighting a cigarette as an armed robber threatens you with a gun.
On Wednesday, August 28, the peaceful night of those enjoying a drink in a St Louis bar was shattered by a fool with a gun.
Presumably under the robber’s instructions, patrons hit the deck; hiding under the counter and giving up their possessions when confronted with the barrel of a rifle.
But one gentleman sat steadfast against the gun-waving robber – the real-life embodiment of Samuel L. Jackson’s icy cold hitman energy in Pulp Fiction’s climactic diner hold-up.
Check out the video below:
Posted by John Kimack and captured on the bar’s security camera, the unidentified robber walks in and clearly gestures for the man to join the others on the floor – but he calmly refuses.
Instead, while he roams around the bar, the man – who is also yet to be identified – casually lights up a cigarette. Just another night in St Louis, eh?
According to Dana Wright, a journalist for KMBZ, the gentleman told the robber: ‘Go ahead. Shoot me. I don’t give a f*ck.’
We just spoke with the bar owner on @KMBZradio – NO WORDS…. We asked what the heck the customer is saying while he's being robbed? AND I QUOTE – "He says 'I'm married to &*%$ ____. Go ahead. Shoot me.
I don't give a ____." Then he lights the cig. https://t.co/ZZJNqf7ynT— Dana Wright (@RadioDana) August 29, 2019
When the robber comes to him for his possessions, the man simply shrugs him off – it appears in the video that his breathtakingly defiant stance has the robber stumped.
As reported by the New York Post, bartender Dustin Krueger said:
He just was very adamant about it like, ‘I’m not playing your game.’
According to the Riverfront Times, police are still on the lookout for the suspect in this case, who reportedly left the scene with only a couple hundred dollars – although, none of that came from the hard-as-nails customer in the video.
The man’s sheer refusal to obey the criminal’s orders have resonated with people online, with one user calling him ‘my hero’.
Another user wrote:
That dude has balls of steel or has nothing left to lose. Either way, ice flows in his veins.
Whether it’s laser-like focus on the situation or a total acceptance of fate, I admire this guy.
— WJ (@WJohnson68) August 30, 2019
Other people commented on the similarities to Jackson’s character in Pulp Fiction, while one user commented that it was like an outtake from a Coen brothers’ movie.
However, numerous users asked another question: is it still legal to smoke in St Louis bars?
That's crazy! They can still smoke in bars in St. Louis?
— John Julitz (@JohnJulitz) August 30, 2019
Are you still allowed to smoke in Saint Louis bars?
— (Redacted) (@GeePaudler) August 30, 2019
That's insane. They still allow smoking in bars there?
— Craig Albert (@SitNearMe) August 29, 2019
Well, Wright asked the bar owner if he still allowed smoking, to which he replied: ‘No, but we don’t allow robbery either.’
While this incident could have easily turned fatal, one has to admire the brass balls on the gentleman. Whoever you are out there, we salute you.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.