Caught on Camera: Woman Turns the Tables on Attacker Armed With Knife

Concepcion Escalante was working at a Pomona business when a man armed with a knife demanded money. She wasn't having any of it

A woman said her survival instincts kicked in when she fought off a man armed with a knife in a frightening attack caught on video at a Pomona, California, business.

Concepcion Escalante was working at her family's insurance store on Saturday afternoon when the man walked in and demanded money. Video shows the attacker in a yellow shirt and jeans dragging Escalante by her hair across a hardwood floor after slamming her against a bookshelf.

The tables turned quickly as Escalante fought tenaciously, punching the man in the groin. The two ended up scuffling on top of a desk as she tried to pull the knife from his hand.

"I don't recommend anybody to do it, but it's also one of those things where you don't know how you're going to react," Escalante said.

Escalante refused to back down, grabbing the man and chasing after him as he ran from the store.

"If you'd have asked me this before Saturday, what would you do if someone came in with a knife? I'd be like, 'Yeah no, I'll give you all the money. You take it, you run,'" she said. "At the moment, you don't think you're going to fight back. It was a different feeling."

The man had visited the store earlier that day, asking for a quote, Escalante said. There was nothing unusual about the initial encounter, she said.

Escalante was not injured.

No arrests were reported. The man got away with about $900.

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