A California resident entered a bank with horrible intentions but in a surprising turn of events, things actually took a turn for the best instead of the worst.
For 69-year-old Michael Armus Sr., he turned what could have been a potentially dangerous situation into one of empathy and compassion. Little did he know that on the day he entered the Bank of the West in Woodland, CA, one of his former neighbors, Eduardo Placensia, was about to commit a desperate act due to his financial struggles.
Armus noticed that Placensia was speaking to one of the bank tellers in a voice that sounded both irritated and depressed. But what Armus didn’t see was the note that his neighbor had passed over to the teller, claiming that he was carrying a gun and he was demanding that the teller hand him over money before he began to shoot up the place.
However, Armus knew that there was also something different about the entire situation. In an interview with NBC15, he told them, “I seen that the way he was talking, he was getting irritated. He said, ‘I don’t want to hurt anybody.’” Moreover, Armus also shared that there was something about Placensia that gave him the courage to approach the man and try to de-escalate what was going on.
Armus shared, “He seemed to be depressed the way he was talking, so… I said, ‘What’s wrong? You don’t have a job?’ He said, ‘There’s nothing in this town for me. I just want to go to prison.” He then explained that he attempted to comfort Plasencia, asking if he would step outside the bank with him.
“So, I took him outside, and I give the man a hug right here at the doors. He started crying. Then, I stepped away from him, and swoop, here come all the cops – no sirens, just lights everywhere, rifles out, ‘Get on the ground!’,” Armus said.
The police would soon figure out that Plasencia didn’t even have a gun on him, like he claimed. Although Plasencia did end up going to jail, he now may have a friend that will come and visit him and hopefully, help him get through this dark period in his life.
Armus told the network, “I believe it was meant for me to be here that day.”
He also shared of the man whom he recognized as a former friend of his daughter from many years before, “Love overcomes all things. People don’t realize that. Try to be kind to somebody. It makes a difference.”
See more about this incredible story of compassion and kindness in the video below:
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