FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Four cousins from Indiana stopped to get gas in South Florida when they suddenly found themselves taking action against a gunman who tried to rob them.
"It didn't seem real," Alec Tanoos told reporters Tuesday, recalling the harrowing moments when the would-be robber pulled a gun on him after a birthday celebration the cousins attended in South Beach.
Alex Wisbey was pumping gas early Sunday at a Mobil gas station on Oakland Park Boulevard in Oakland Park when a gunman approached them, stuck a gun in Tanoos' ribs and demanded all their valuables.
"When I noticed the gun, you know, it was fight mode, automatically, for me," Wisbey said.
Tanoos' older brother, Jacob Tanoos, grabbed the man's gun and Wisbey put him in a chokehold as the family members took him to the ground.
The entire ordeal was captured on surveillance video.
While the cousins were wrestling with the man, a second man got out of a nearby car and tried to pull them off his accomplice.
"Don't know there's a second guy in the car," Jacob Tanoos said. "He comes out and he pushes me off of him."
Eventually, the cousins were able to disarm the would-be robber.
"I finally get my hand on the gun and I jerk it away," Aric Wisbey said.
Aric Wisbey said he pointed the gun at the two men, telling them to leave and get a job. He decided not to shoot.
"Those guys, those are sons of somebody," he said. "Those are fathers of somebody. Those are brothers to somebody."
The men got away, but deputies eventually caught up with and arrested the alleged getaway driver. Deputies said Kevin Campbell, 33, was the shirtless man seen in the video.
"This is really scary," Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Gina Carter said. "We would never encourage anyone to do this, but fortunately for them, they're fine."
The cousins are OK, except for a few cuts and bruises, after a dangerous situation that strengthened the bond between them.
"I knew that there was a possibility that I could be shot and killed. I knew that," Alex Wisbey said. "That's my family. You know, we die for each other, and that's how it's always going to be."
Detectives are still searching for the other man. Anyone with information is asked to call the BSO or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.