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They did, but ended up being the ones pounced upon by alert police. 7news was there this morning:..

Monica Bodden reporting
This morning - the owner of De hi Li and friends were searching this bushy lot for his licensed firearm. It was stolen during a robbery at his store at 6:40 this morning. It's a long established community store - and this morning, residents and regular customers were talking to the proprietor about what happened,

According to reports, the robbers ran into the store with a firearm - that's when this customer who asked to appear off camera, ran out - and set into a motion a remarkable chain of events:

Voice Of: witness Who Called Police
"I never really know what was happening because they move so fast. They move really fast. When I look I see the first guy ran in the side door because the lady had just taken in her two bags. Then I look I see they grab Mr. De hi Li around his neck and a gun to his head, and then another guy ran in."

Monica Bodden
"So the two that ran in the store they didn't try to do you anything?"

Voice Of: witness Who Called Police
"No I don't know why because the first two that went in had the gun, so I ran out back nearly knocking down the third guy because the first two ran in first and they grab the man, so I ran out."

"So I ran home and I called out for my girlfriend because a policeman lives in the lower flat of where I live; Corporal Briceno. I ask them to call 911."

Corporal Briceno responded along with other police who were on patrol in the area with a firearm. By this time the culprits had escaped through the back of the store and hopped over this fence.

That's where Corporal Briceno and another neighbor met them

Voice Of: witness Who Called Police
"I went to assist him so while we were coming the three person was running towards us. At the same time the police officer took out his gun and starts to fire some warning shots (get on the ground). They still didn't stop. He said freeze, they didn't freeze. So while they didn't freeze he brace himself and start to fire some more shots."

Instead they ran into this yard - jumped unto this weak fence, tumbled into the next yard - and when police came around, they scrambled up this Golden Plum tree unto the roof.

Voice Of: witness Who Called Police
"The sergeant said like this "look up, they are in the tree," so he starts to fire some more warning shots in the air to come down and so finally two of the persons came down and he put them on the ground."

The third one was hiding here in the corner of an adjoining building by a garbage - so all three were arrested - and all because one customer managed to get out:

Voice Of: witness Who Called Police
"I don't know how they didn't stop me because I believe two of them said that it was the guy that was in there made them got caught."

And while the culprits were apprehended, the store-owner is still looking for his weapon and recovering from a wound to the head which required a trip in the ambulance this morning.

He still hasn't found that weapon. His licensed 9 millimeter pistol and his watch were stolen. Police say they recovered the watch, and a magazine for the gun, but not the gun itself.

Police did find the men with a 9 millimeter pistol - which was the one used in the robbery.