Note: We are republishing this story, which originally made headlines in September 2013, amid recent reports of a spike in violent crime and robbery across the United States during the pandemic.

Robbery victims know that it is easy to be scared and give in to the thief’s demands, especially when they are armed. However, a thief has learned that some victims do not always follow this unwritten script.

In Marionville, Missouri, a man entered a liquor store where 54-year-old Jon Lewis Alexander worked. The would-be thief came through the door with a cigarette dangling from his lips, puffing smoke.

Immediately noticing the man, Alexander told him that smoking was not allowed inside the store. Alexander later testified that the man looked him square in the eye and took another puff as if he were a villain from an action movie.

The thug then demanded that Alexander give him all the money and began to raise his gun, unaware that Alexander was a military veteran. Thanks to years of training from him, Alexander was able to move faster than the thief, cover his gun, draw his own pistol and aim it at the man’s face.