Police in Birmingham, Alabama are looking for two suspects who tried to rob a beauty store while armed and wearing masks earlier this week. Meanwhile, the store owner is alive and well, thanks to the fact that he was able to protect himself and customers inside.

The brief encounter between the two suspects and the store owner was caught on tape, and you can see how quickly everything unfolded.

The two suspects, who both appear to be in their teens or early 20’s, storm into the store and immediately head to the cash register, even pushing an older woman out of the way and on to the floor. As one suspect climbs up on top of the counter to get better access to the register, the owner of the store draws his one firearm and begins shooting.

That’s when the suspects frantically scramble for the front door. As they’re sliding and scooting their way towards the exit, one suspect turns back and fires several shots towards the owner, who is out of view from the surveillance cameras. The pair burst through the doorway and run off in separate directions into the night.

So far, no suspects have been identified in this case. Thankfully the owner and the customer inside the store are okay, though understandably shaken up.

When an arrest is made, it’s likely that the two suspects will be facing attempted murder charges in addition to the armed robbery charges, thanks to the suspect in the pink shirt firing indiscriminately towards the owner and the customer as he tried to flee the scene.

You’d think criminals in Birmingham would have gotten the message by now that if you try to rob a store, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to encounter an armed employee. Earlier this year an attempted robbery of a Family Dollar store was thwarted when a clerk drew his gun and sent the sword-wielding robbers running. Store employee Precious Spencer told WBRC that her manager was carrying his gun in violation of store policy, which turned out to be a good thing.

“He got to the end of the aisle and said they’re robbing us they’re robbing us. So, he’s holding his gun and he says when they seen me take my gun out then they ran. But they came here with swords and that kind of threw us for a loop because no one really got robbed with swords before,” Spencer reflected. “What were they going to do, chop our heads off and get the stuff?”

Spencer said associates aren’t allowed to carry guns on the job. “He said they rob us too much and that’s why I have my gun and I understand why he feels the way he feels. He’s trying to secure himself and protect the people that are in here. He said Precious, if I wasn’t here ain’t no telling what they would have done to y’all.”

I’ve not been able to find any news about the sword-carrying robbers being arrested, unfortunately. Let’s hope that Birmingham police have better luck identifying the suspects in this week’s beauty store robbery, and perhaps more managers, owners, and clerks in the area will be inspired to get their concealed carry license and start carrying after learning about the actions of this store owner.