73-Year-Old Texas Grandfather Rolls Up in Truck, Rescues Young Woman While Thrashing Armed Bandit

Why would a 73-year-old grandfather of 11 interfere with a robber choking a young woman and in the process get himself bloodied and have his pickup stolen out from under him? “I don’t have any choice,” said Simon Mancilla Sr. about his attempts to aid a woman accosted outside a North Houston check-cashing store earlier this month, KHOU reported. “Hey, man … don’t make a problem,” Mancilla recalled speaking from his truck to the armed robber. The gunman then forced Mancilla out of his pickup, and Mancilla fought back. He and the robber exchanged blows, with Mancilla being hit in the head by a pistol and eventually falling to the ground. Despite the efforts of two other good Samaritans who came to the scuffle, the robber managed to take off in Mancilla’s truck — even as one of the Samaritans briefly clung to its side. Mancilla never saw the men coming to his aid since, according to his son, “His eyes were full of blood, he couldn’t see anyone.” Mancilla required several stitches. Houston police released a video of the incident caught on a nearby cell phone. The gunman had grabbed the young woman who had just left the check-cashing store when Mancilla got involved. Frequently — especially in places like Texas — there are stories of good guys with guns stopping criminals. But Mancilla is a special kind of good guy: a good guy without a gun trying to stop a bad guy with a gun. That’s bravery. While, at least for the time being, it cost him his pickup and some stitches, at least it didn’t cost him his life. And it’s a good thing he’s in a state that recognizes the right of self-defense and the honor of defending someone in trouble. In another state, he might have been charged with assaulting the poor little bad guy. That upside-down kind of world is causing a lot of people to leave their liberal-run states and move to places like Texas. Because if they get attacked by a bad guy at least there will be recognition of what is the right thing to do. And who knows? Maybe a modest hero like Simon Mancilla will be ready to step in and help out. This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.