Editorial: Bravery foolish and to be praised

It's always good to hear about would-be criminals being stopped and being taught a lesson.

This is the story we've told in The Daily Post today. We've reported an attempted robbery at a bar on Wednesday night that went wrong when patrons took to the alleged offenders with pool cues.

Witnesses told us two men burst into Whakatane's Kope Turf Bar in James St at 9.30pm.

One ran behind the bar and pushed a female bartender out of the way before attempting to grab cash. Witnesses said the second man, armed with what was described as a sawn-off shotgun, stood at the door.

Patrons swarmed to help stop the first man before the armed man rushed in and threatened to shoot if the patrons didn't get off.

While most of the patrons stepped out of the way, another patron grabbed a pool cue and smacked the armed man with it.

Although it was good to know the would-be robbers didn't get away with their crime, the patrons taking the situation into their own hands wasn't necessarily the best thing to do.

Things could have turned out so much worse for them if it hadn't worked out the way they had hoped.

The patrons were obviously very courageous in their actions, but an armed robbery is such a dangerous situation to try to control.

This concern is shared by police, too.

Area Commander for Eastern Bay of Plenty Inspector Sandra Venables has said police discouraged members of the public from putting themselves at risk by tackling offenders, particularly when they were armed.

However, she said the patrons were incredibly courageous and that they should be proud they stood up for their community.

The actions of those patrons were both heroic and foolhardy at the same time.

We've got to be glad the situation ended well - the alleged bad guys stopped in their tracks by the good guys.

What do you think?

Email editor@dailypost.co.nz, text DP then your message to 021 241 4568, or write to editor, PO Box 1442, Rotorua.

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