Last week I was going to the ATM to get some cash for a haircut. I'm kind of rolling along the parking lot fumbling my card out of my wallet when I hear this guy yell stop!

I look up. Mere feet in front of me, standing just behind his armored car parked at the ATM, a guard has his .45 leveled at 2 masked gunmen who are scrambling around. One gets down behind their car, which is parked in the little alley between a dollar store and the ATM machine. The other goes around the corner of the dollar store, gun in hand.

Felt like I was watching a movie except it was real and I was right in the middle of it. My mind took several seconds to process the situation. Expecting to hear rounds start popping off, I jack it in rewind and back up out of the line of fire.

The one behind the car looks to be ready to quit, and he walks out and sorta sits down. Even pulls up his ski mask. Then he gets up and moves toward the driver's side of the car his gun hanging at his side. The guard, an older gray haired guy is in the classic shooter's stance, shouting at the top of his lungs for the guy to stop.

In the meantime masked gunman number 2 duck legs it off across the mall parking lot. (The ass of his jeans is hanging down between his knees, so he runs like he's in a sack race at a company picnic. Prolly still could've outrun me though.) Well, I'm reasonable sure nobody's going to shoot, so I punch 911 on the cell, slap it back in drive and head out across the parking lot toward him. At the end of Dillard's there's brick wall with some dumpsters behind it, and I see him pull off his mask and drop his gun on the other side of the wall.

He's a kid maybe 19 or 20 years old, tall, fit, hair in corn rows. From maybe 30 or 40 feet away I shout out my window "Stop right there bud! I got the cops on the phone!". I didn't really, 911 is just ringing away in my ear, apparently nobody's home. The kid ignores me (big surprise) and lopes around the corner of the wall just as the robbers' car shoots by and squeals around the corner. Apparently robber number one had gotten in and left in the car despite a loaded 45 aimed at center mass by the armored car guard. His compadre jumps in and they high tail it out of there.

No license plate on the car, just a plain gold colored sedan. Honda? Nissan? Ford? I could've followed them, but hey nothing like that ever happened to me before and I wasn't thinking straight. Well okay, I figured the driver still had his gun and getting shot at did cross my mind. This ain't the movies, in real life the good guys get shot too.

Anyway, I drive on around the corner, and there's several people standing around the area, apparently Dillards workers on some kind of break. I get out and tell them to stay away from the gun, just as the 911 operator finally answers. I semi coherently tell her where/who I am, and a minute later a Mall security dude ambles up. No big hurry he just saunters on up and asks for my name and address. I hang up with 911, and me and mall guy check out the gun. It's a freakin pellet pistol...but it looks for all world like a .45.

(I figger it went something like this. Would be robber number 1 to would be robber number 2: Hey Tyrone, let's go rob an armored car with our pellet guns! It'll be easy! Tyrone: You da man bra, less hit it!)

Bowling Green's finest makes the scene, and I'm interviewed about everything I saw. I felt a little guilty...almost said: Well I know I didn't follow the bad guys officers, but I did holler at one of them after he got rid of his gun. Real loud too.