"I know who you are": An 11-year-old girl foils a convenience store robbery by recognizing the voice of the masked robber

Near Le Mans, an 11-year-old girl managed to thwart a supermarket robbery after recognizing the voice of the masked man who was threatening her with a weapon. He was sentenced to two years in prison.

A completely surreal scene. A man appeared before the court in Le Mans on May 18 for events that took place three days earlier, on May 15, in Bonnétable (Sarthe). On that day, this individual, wearing a balaclava and carrying a rifle, burst into a local supermarket.

Facing him was an 11-year-old girl. She had been filling in for her father behind the counter for a few moments earlier in the evening. The man then pointed his weapon and demanded the contents of the cash register, as reported by our colleagues at Sud-Ouest and L'Echo Sarthois.

At that moment, despite the critical situation, the 11-year-old girl managed to remain calm. "Take the cash register," she replied, before begging the assailant not to shoot. This plea prompted the individual to make the mistake that led to his identification. "I won't shoot you, I promise," he said, trying to reassure the girl.

"You can take off your balaclava."

Through this phrase, the young girl recognized the voice of her robber. He did, in fact, live near the store. "You can take off your balaclava. I know who you are," the girl shouted. Her cries prompted the father to intervene in the store.

Having had his anonymity compromised, the hooded perpetrator, shaken by the situation, turned himself in to the authorities. During his court appearance, he admitted his actions: "I did something incredibly stupid," he told the judges, explaining that he had acted to make some quick money.

He was sentenced to a mixed sentence of three years in prison, one of which was suspended and the other two years to be served. The judges also ordered the revocation of one month of his previous suspended sentence and issued an immediate arrest warrant. The man will therefore spend the next 25 months behind bars.