Hero shopper stops out-of-control addict in Aldi robbery gone wrong

If you thought your biggest worry while shopping at your local Aldi on a Sunday afternoon was a bit of a queue for the till, think again.

CCTV footage has emerged of a hero shopper stopping an drug-fuelled attacker on a violent rampage in a New South Wales Aldi store. 

Out of nowhere, Mervyn Davidson rushed through the store doors, swinging a baseball bat while under the influence of drugs. Footage shows Davidson rushing over to a checkout where he demanded cash from a female assistant at the Aldi store. Other customers can be seen running away as the violent criminal carries out his attack. He proceeded to hit the worker over the head with the bat, causing her to be knocked unconscious, as he scrambled to get his hands on cash. 

Manuel Melgarejo, who was shopping in a nearby aisle, quickly swung into immediate action to try and stop the criminal at the Albion Park Rail store. He was shopping in a nearby aisle with his wife and daughter when he heard the commotion at the front of the store.

The CCTV video shows him ramming his trolley into Davidson with force, trying to stop him from causing any more damage. Another staff member then grabbed Davidson and snatched the baseball bat out of his hands as the staffer tried desperately to calm the attacker down.

“I’d never seen nothing like it,” Melgarejo revealed in an exclusive interview with A Current Affair on Tuesday evening. “There was kids there. There was people crying and screaming. It was crazy. It was like it was out of a movie or something.”

He said everyone in the store appeared to be in a panic and that nobody really knew what to do. Footage also shows another shopper comforting his upset son from the attacker. Along with shopkeeper Rob, Melgarejo managed to hold the attacker down until security and further help arrived. He said it was like “holding five men down” as Davidson continued to swear and be violent.

Reports suggest that the confronting footage was shown during a sentencing hearing earlier this week. News outlets reported that Davidson, who admitted being under the influence of ice at the time, was charged over the attack and has pleaded guilty, with his sentencing scheduled for next week. Meanwhile, the female victim spent five days in hospital recovering from the vicious attack.

The incident comes after another video recently went viral showing a pair of thugs scamming an unsuspecting grandma as she shopped in a British Aldi store. During that incident, one robber asked the kind-hearted lady for assistance while the other reached into her handbag and stole her purse.

What do you think of the shocking footage? Does it put you off doing your shopping at Aldi?

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