Burlington, NC -- There have been at least four cases in June of victims and witnesses fighting back against criminals - across the country and in the Triad.
One of the most recent happened Wednesday night around midnight at the Fairway One Stop Gas Station Convenience Store in Burlington.
The store's owner Bumju Cho said a man walked up behind him while he was standing outside of his store and told him him he had a gun and to give him his wallet.
When Cho realized the suspect didn't have a gun, he fought him and held him until police showed up and arrested him.
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Although Cho said he took a chance, police said fighting back is not worth the risk.
"We need people to be better witnesses than we do heroes. People will see things occasionally and they want to become involved but the best thing they can do to help us is to be a good witness," said Sergeant C.T. Blaylock of the Greensboro Police Department
Blaylock said confrontation is just not the safe thing to do. Instead of fighting back, authorities advise you to get the suspect's description, vehicle tags, and to immediately call 911.
According to the website psychcentral.com, reactions like Bumju Cho's is called ''fight-or-flight'. The website attribute's Cho's behavior to one of two reasons.
One is a learned reaction from the culture in which you were raised. Researchers said the other reason is scientific because there is an innate subconscious reaction which sends a signal from your brain to your body.
WFMY News 2