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The owner of the Suds and Duds Laundromat in Cedar City held two suspected thieves at gunpoint with the help of a passerby on Thursday until officers arrived, police said.
The owner saw a man on video surveillance use tools in an attempt to break into a coin machine at about 4 p.m., according to a news release from the Cedar City Police Department. The owner, who was in another part of the building, confronted the man and a female who was with him and displayed a handgun, the release says.
The business owner fired a single shot into a wall, reportedly as a warning, when the suspect began walking toward him. The two men engaged in a physical altercation, which spilled outside. The suspect and the female got into an SUV that was in the parking lot, the release says.
A passerby who had a handgun stopped to assist, and he and the business owner held the two until police officers took them into custody, according to the release. Police were investigating the incident Thursday evening.