WATCH: San Ramon Opticians Fight Off Armed Robbers

Summary:

• 4 masked suspects, some armed, attempted to rob an optometry store.
• The martial arts-trained optometrist and another employee took on the robbers.
• Watch the full video at this link.

SAN RAMON, CA — Employees at a City Center optometry store fought off masked robbers, one of whom was armed with a metal tool, according to the San Ramon Police Department and other reports.

On Feb. 21 at around 1:17 p.m., San Ramon police responded to a strong-arm robbery at Optical Illusions, a high-end optometry store at 6000 Bollinger Canyon Road #1104 at City Center. Four masked suspects entered the store, and three of the suspects began grabbing eyewear from glasses and display cases, according to police.

Two of the store's employees, including Dr. William To, tried to stop the robbers, and a physical altercation ensued. Video footage shared with KTVU shows an intense fight with the employees. The optician fighting takes Krav Maga martial arts classes twice a week, Dr. To told KRON4.

To told KTVU and KRON4 that if they were just stealing eyewear, staff would likely not have intervened. But since a patient and another store employee were present and the thieves were carrying weapons, they wanted to prevent anyone from being harmed.

“We were protecting each other, we were protecting our patients, and that makes me proud. That’s the decision we made in that split-second,” he told KRON4.

Total loss and damage to the store are estimated at $15,000, San Ramon police said.

The suspect remains under active investigation. Officers from SRPD's Organized Retail Theft Suppression Team identified an 18-year-old from Pittsburg as a suspect. He was arrested, and is currently in custody in San Mateo County on unrelated charges, police said.

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