Hero delivery driver wrestles weapon from gunman holding up Chinese restaurant in Enfield

The armed man was jailed for five years after admitting the attempted robbery
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A hero delivery driver today told how he caught and disarmed a gunman holding up his boss at a family restaurant.

Josef Gunar, 42, was praised by a judge as a “brave and vallant gentleman” for apprehending Mahmoud Mohebbi as he held up Rainbow City in Enfield, north London.

Mohebbi, 37, was jailed yesterday for five years for the attempted robbery of the Chinese restaurant with an imitation firearm.

Mr Gunar said he had no thought for his safety when he rushed across the street to protect his boss of three years Nanshang Chen being held at gunpoint.

The armed man attempts to hold up the restaurant at gunpoint

He grabbed the man from behind before pinning him to the ground outside.

He took the gun and turned it on the robber before police arrived.

His brave actions on September 9 last year were caught on CCTV.

The Czech Republic national told the Standard: “I didn’t call the police, I just ran in quickly and grabbed him from behind and then grabbed his hands for the gun. I didn’t think if it was real or not.

“I didn’t think about money, money is nothing.

“I only thought about my boss’s life, the staff and his wife and kids.

“After I got the gun I pointed it to his head. Everyone was scared.”

“He was begging me when we were holding him for the police, saying, ‘please let me go, I have a family to feed please, my hands are hurting’.

“But I thought what if I let him go and he does this to someone else or hurts them. I couldn’t live with that.

“I have never been in a fight so I was very scared. It was the second most terrifying moment of my life - after waiting for my hip operation.

“Of course I would do it again, if I see someone getting attacked I will help- I’ll probably lose my life eventually,”

Police arrived and arrested Mohebbi. The gun, loaded with blanks, was tested and found to be an Italian-made BBM Olympic 6 blank-firing.22 calibre revolver painted black to make it look real.

Mohebbi, of Enfield, was jailed for five years for attempted robbery and given two years concurrent for possessing an imitation firearm after pleading guilty to both offences.

Chinese take-away owner Mr Chen condemned the ‘lenient” sentence for the robber who “threatened his life and business.”

He said: “I don’t understand English law, in China if you pull a gun on somebody that is ten years minimum.

“The guy put the gun down on the table, I thought it was real. He just shouted ‘give me all your money’.

“I could see Josef outside watching, so I just said to the robber ‘sorry I am very scared I will count your money for you’ to buy some time.

“Then Josef was in there and pulled him out and we put him on the floor and held him outside.

“Josef is a hero I always tell him ‘you saved my life’.”

At the sentencing yesterday at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Judge John Lafferty said: “Mr Gunar did not simply call the police as he might have been expected to do.

“He got out of his car and he entered the takeaway because his employer was in there being threatened by Mr Mohebbi with what he thought was a real firearm.

“Mr Gunar is a very brave and gallant gentleman.

“He could easily have sat on the other side of the street and discharged his civic duty by calling the police.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in