Watch: IHOP Employee Takes Down Robber Using Martial Arts Skills

An IHOP waiter is being hailed a hero after thwarting a robbery at his San Antonio restaurant with the aid of his mixed martial arts skills.

The New York Daily News reports that Elijah Arnold upon coming in on Thursday morning to open, he heard something at the entrance.

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“I just heard the register popping,” the 22-year-old waiter said. “I stepped out and looked and there he was pulling the register out and everything so I just took off, my instinct kicked in and I took off full speed at him.”

ABC News affiliate WFAA said surveillance footage shows Arnold confronting the man, and tackling him to the ground as he attempts to loot the register.

Another snippet shows the man trying to flee the IHOP, but Arnold grabbed a hold of the robber’s leg, eventually pushing him down to the floor. In the footage, the man was seen pleading with Arnold to let him go.

“He tries to start apologizing and, ‘man I’m so sorry. I know I hit you,” Arnold said. “I know I’m trying to steal your money, but just give it to me. I need it really bad’ and everything like that.”

Arnold said it pulled at his heartstrings as he was recently addicted to drugs with a few prospects.

“Two weeks ago, I wasn’t working,” Arnold told NBC affiliate KABB. “I was homeless.”

The waiter had just recently returned to IHOP, where he revealed he had worked four years earlier before his downward spiral

“That was my money in the register,” Arnold told the news channel. “It was my manager’s money in the register. And it was my IHOP’s money in the register. And I’m not going to let anybody take that.”

Arnold said it pulled at his heartstrings as he was recently addicted to drugs with a few prospects.

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“Two weeks ago, I wasn’t working,” Arnold told NBC affiliate KABB. “I was homeless.”

The waiter had just recently returned to IHOP, where he revealed he had worked four years earlier before his downward spiral

“That was my money in the register,” Arnold told the news channel. “It was my manager’s money in the register. And it was my IHOP’s money in the register. And I’m not going to let anybody take that.”

The biggest reward for Arnold though was the appreciation he got from his managers, telling WFAA that they “congratulated” him.

“That was the biggest thing that I could have was the thank you from my managers,” he said.

The suspect was taken into custody, but the other two with him are still being sought in the case, according to reports.