Masked Man Robs Gas Station, But Hero Behind Him Springs Into Action.

This would-be robber got a lot more push-back than he’d bargained for.

Daniel Gaskey is a former Marine-turned-firefighter, and he stopped by a convenience store in Midlothian, Texas, early one morning in the summer of 2015. He was getting a morning cup of joe as he headed to work on his one-year anniversary with the nearby Mansfield Fire Department when he was taken by surprise from behind.

He was standing at the register getting ready to pay when a 19-year-old man came up and pushed him out of the way.

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He probably thought the guy was just being rude and cutting in line. Then he saw the weapon. The masked man set a 5-inch-long hunting knife down on the counter and told the cashier, “This is going to be quick and easy. Just give me the money.â€

When he realized what was happening, Daniel took a couple seconds to assess the situation, then leaped into action. With little regard for his own safety, he wrapped his arms around the man’s neck, got him in a chokehold and tackled him to the floor…

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Then kept him pinned until police arrived just minutes later.

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“Sometimes there’s a job that needs to get done,” he said. “You have to be willing to stand up and help each other.â€

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That’s just the kind of thing his boss and co-workers at the fire department would expect from Daniel, whose quick and decisive action that day came at least in part from the eight years he spent in the Marines, including a one-year tour in Iraq.

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“I saw the video for the first time this morning and I went, ‘This wasn’t just, ‘I’ll hang on until the police get here.’ He intervened and made a difference in someone’s life,”the Mansfield fire chief, Barry Bondurant, said in an interview afterward.

Watch the take-down in the clip below, and share to spread thanks that there are people out there who show so much bravery.