Deli owner throws hot oil on alleged robber

LINDEN, N.J., Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Police in New Jersey said a deli owner fended off an alleged robber by throwing hot oil on the armed suspect.

Linden police said the owner of Cos's Corner Deli, who asked his name not be used, threw scalding oil on a suspect who came into the store at 2:06 p.m. Monday, pointed a handgun at him and demanded money from the cash register, The (Newark) Star-Ledger reported Tuesday.

"It's like 350 degrees. I think that got him, he felt the heat, that's when he ran away," the deli owner said.

"I couldn't just stand here and watch him take my money. We don't rob people to make money. We work 12 to 15 hours a day to put bread on the table," the man said.

Police said the suspect's face was partially obscured by his coat, but investigators are attempting to identify him from surveillance camera footage.