YPSILANTI – With remarkable courage and composure, an Iraqi American man successfully thwarted an armed robbery attempt at a juice store in Ypsilanti on the evening of Friday, February 28. He managed to disarm the perpetrator and pin him to the ground before allowing him to leave, leading to his later arrest.

According to details, Ali Hadma, who owns and operates a hookah shop adjacent to Vara Juice on Washtenaw Avenue, received a call around 7:30 p.m. from one of the female employees at the neighboring store. Without knowing exactly what was happening, he rushed to their aid.

Hadma, 35, entered the store immediately and saw the suspect taking money from the cash register, as captured by surveillance cameras. He approached the thief and ordered him to “Put it back.”

The thief replied that he was armed, but that did not deter Hadma from potentially risking his life and engaging in a struggle with him. Ultimately, Hadma overpowered the suspect, disarmed him and discovering that the weapon was a pellet gun.

Hadma has been running the Cups On A Mission hookah shop in Ypsilanti — located about 35 miles west of Detroit — for nearly three years. He immigrated to Michigan in 1997 with his parents and seven siblings.

He said he would have done the same thing even if he had known the man was armed. In an interview with WXYZ Channel 7, he described his relationship with the juice shop as almost “a family connection — whether with the owners, employees or even customers.”

Surveillance footage showed a 20-year-old Arab American employee, slowly handing cash from the register to the suspect under duress. This impatience led the thief to grab the money himself, trying to speed up the process. However, his misfortune led him to cross paths with Hadma, who arrived before the robbery was complete and confronted him.

Ali Hadma speaks to a WXYZ-TV Channel 7 reporter

Hadma said that during the struggle, his only thoughts were to grab the weapon, retrieve the stolen money and ensure everyone’s safety. He also said he did not realize the suspect was armed until the suspect himself stated it.

Hadma managed to pin the suspect against the counter and attempted to seize his firearm. He succeeded in knocking it to the floor before fully subduing and restraining the thief. Once he retrieved the money, Hadma let the man go.

Hadma said that he had never received any tactical or self-defense training, though he works out six days a week at the gym.

Authorities were able to identify and arrest the suspect on Sunday. He was identified as Barrage Lamar Scott, 37, and was detained without bail until his next court appearance, where he faces a possible life term in prison.

Sadam Badani, the Yemeni American owner of Vara Juice, expressed deep gratitude for Hadma’s bravery.

“Everyone in Ypsilanti loves Ali,” he said. “It’s Ramadan now, and we break our fast together. He treats all the girls like his sisters.”

Badani added that the employee is fine, but her parents won’t allow her to return to work unless her “hero”, Ali, is present. He emphasized that he didn’t care about the stolen money or anything else, “as long as no one was hurt.”

Hadma, in turn, stated that he received a flood of praise and encouragement on social media. However, some people called him crazy, questioning, “Why risk your life over a few dollars?”

“It’s not about that,” he said. “If people need help, we should help them.”

Since the release of the heroic surveillance video, Hadma has begun printing his catchphrase, “Put it back”, on various apparel for sale — which has been gaining significant popularity.