This Story About a Fencing Coach Who Foiled a Robbery Is Amazing
[There was a video here]
Fencing instructor Franco Scaramuzza was returning from class last week when he happened across a robbery in progress in the parking lot of a Nashville shopping center.
Scaramuzza had just rounded a corner with his car when he saw two men assault a couple with pepper spray, and then attempt to make off with a purse.
That's when things got amazing.
"The first thing that went through my head is somebody should do something, and that's when I got really upset and disappointed with myself, because I realized I had the opportunity to do something," Scaramuzza told local NBC affiliate WSMV. "And I didn't want to be a hypocrite who just tweeted about it."
Still in uniform and with his dueling sword — or épée — in hand, Scaramuzza literally leaped into action.
"I charged towards them, holding my épée up high, and, you know, yelling at them," he recalled. "I kept yelling throughout the entire thing. They completely panicked and dropped everything they stole and really took off."
It gets better: The police apprehended the robbery suspects within minutes. Their names? Michael Butt and Zachary Johnson.
Scaramuzza later told the news station he didn't hesitate once before deciding to act.
"You have to make decisions in a very quick amount of time," he said. "Fencing, you can do it without the weapon. It happens in your mind, and that's how you try to make the right choices." Hollywood — do your thing.
