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Subway worker claims she was suspended after fighting back against armed robber
Published 13:05 13 Sept 2021 BST
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She was working alone at the Illinois store when a masked man entered and demanded money
A Subway worker who was filmed pointing a gun at an armed robber after wrestling the weapon from him, claims the incident led to her suspension just days later. Araceli Sotelo was working alone at a Subway in Rockford, Illinois, when a masked man came into the store and demanded money. Footage of the incident, posted on TikTok on September 9, shows Sotelo shouting "stop" and "get out" as she tries to get the man to leave. "He kind of just showed me his gun, and I was like freaking out like, 'woah you can't do that please leave'," she said, according to Daily Mail. "[He said] 'give me all the money', and I said, 'I do not have any money, like, I do not have any money'. That is all I had and he was just like, 'give me everything before I hurt you."
When the man refused to leave, Sotelo claims she was forced to fight him off.
"He was smaller than me, so I have that advantage. I'm bigger than him, so I could at least put my weight on him, push him, or something," she said.
Sotelo wrestled the man, causing him to drop her purse and his gun. The footage shows the worker get hold of the weapon, before pointing it at the masked man and demanding her purse back. Sotelo is also seen hitting the man's head with the gun.
Sotelo claims that after the incident she lost her job because the footage had been shared online.
She said TikTok: "I was just suspended from my job after this incident.
"[I was told that] 'if every one of these videos are not taken offline you will be suspended,' and then I texted them and I'm like 'how long am I suspended for?' They said till everything is removed online. I have no ability to do that. "They did not want anyone to know, they wanted to be private that it happened to me and that I fought back, but I think they did that because they do not want corporate to know." The TikTokvideo has racked up 7.7 million views. Related links: Subway customers boycott company because Megan Rapinoe appeared in their adverts Worker wins £5,000 payout after being given 3 nuggets for £1.99 Junior council worker accidentally makes tons of decisions after thinking they were testing the website@yadalove07Share #fyp♬ original sound - Yada Love
