The incident was captured on surveillance video as 58-year-old Cregg Jerri battled with a knife-wielding robber at a starbucks outlet in Fresno in California on Thursday, July 20. Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer dubbed Jerri a “courageous hero” for his actions when he placed his own life at risk to stop the crime from occurring at one of his favorite locations.

Robber enters Starbucks in a ‘Transformers’ mask with knife

According to Dyer, Florez entered Starbucks at around 5 PM Thursday, armed with a knife and carrying a yellow bag and a fake gun.

There were six employees and two customers in the Starbucks at the time. The suspect’s face was concealed by a blue “Transformers” mask. Florez headed straight for the cashier in the restaurant, demanding money. At that moment, Jerri leaped to the rescue, grabbing a chair and hitting Florez repeatedly over the head. As noted by the New York Daily News, the pair then fought for a short time before Florez fled the scene driving a pickup truck. The suspect then ditched the truck and ran towards a canal where passersby noted his bloody state and called the police.

The Starbucks surveillance footage can be seen here.

Suspect hospitalized but facing charges on his release

Florez is currently hospitalized for his injuries and is in a critical condition.

The suspect will be facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon and attempted armed robbery on his release when he will be booked into Fresno County Jail. Jerri was a little better off from the incident and only required a few staples to close the stab wound in his chest, received during the fight with Florez. As noted by the Sacramento Bee, Dyer said Florez had no past criminal history as an adult but did have a juvenile record.

As noted by local media outlet Your Central Valley, blood and other forensic evidence was taken from the scene of the attempted robbery and the restaurant was closed for a while.

Hero is a regular customer at Starbucks

According to the police chief, Jerri is a regular customer at the Starbucks and is well known by the employees.

Dyer said Jerri was a pleasure to talk to following the incident and that it is always great to talk to heroes. However, Your Central Valley quotes police authorities as saying Jerri had taken a risky action in fighting off the wannabe robber. While they ask the public to always be a good witness in a situation of this kind, they say it is not recommended for people to take action which could endanger their own life.