What started as a quick coffee-run quickly turned violent.
Ardalan Ashkanian says was approached by a man asking for a cigarette outside a Circle K convenience store in Phoenix.
Instead, the stranger tried snagging the lanyard around his neck.
Ashkanian says a second man showed himself and tried to make off with the keys to his Dodge Ram pickup truck.
"It wasn't the smart thing to do," he said. "But I just went after them."
That's when the men trying to steal his car, pulled out weapons, according to Phoenix police.
Both pointed guns at Ashkanian and pulled the trigger, but Ashkanian says he felt a sense of confidence.
"The one thing that went through my head was that these guns are gonna jam," Ashkanian said.
They did. One man pulled the trigger at least ten times, according to Ashkanian, but never fired. The other tried four other times, and eventually let out one shot into the air.
Ashkanian acted quickly and struggled with one of the two assailants until he bolted from the scene. The other hopped in the truck and tried to make a run for it.
Ashkanian says he grabbed the only thing within reach to fight him off. "I grabbed the coffee that was at my hood, and I just threw it right at his face."
Phoenix police say both men got away with only two packs of cigarettes.
"They weren't expecting any type of resistance whatsoever," Ashkanian said. "Once there was resistance, they just really didn't know what to do."
Phoenix police say the two armed men are still on the run. Ashkanian hopes this reaction teaches them a lesson.
