Teresa Brasher had just pulled up to work at Scotty’s Restaurant in Vallejo, California when her “guardian angel” stepped in and saved her life.
Teresa works as the opening waitress and said her loyal customer and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Robert Sundin would leave his home at 5:30am every weekday and drive up to the restaurant which opened at 6:00am to keep an eye on her and get his breakfast.
Teresa was sitting in her car in the parking lot when a man pulled up on an electric scooter wearing a hoodie and a ski mask and threatened to rob her.
“He came up to my door, and he pointed his finger at me. He was pointing at my purse. I don’t know if he used his finger or a gun,” Teresa told NBC Bay Area.
Robert noticed something unusual was going on and got out of his truck to walk over there and investigate the situation.
“When he got out of his truck I just started thinking ‘no, no, no, no,’” Teresa said.
The 70-year-old former Marine walked right up to the robber and confronted him, then, within a blink of an eye, that’s when the hoodied man grabbed him, pulled out a gun, and shot the veteran dead.
“He’s my guardian angel. He saved my life,” Teresa said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “God wasn’t ready for me. But they had a place for Bob up there.”
The murderer then drove off, leaving the crime scene before police could get there. Authorities are currently investigating and looking for the suspect and if anyone has tips they are asked to contact the Vallejo Police Department.
“That’s what makes it hard. He was just such a wonderful man. It was just somebody you come across and you feel comfortable talking to him,” Scotty’s owner Nay Ung told NBC Bay Area.
The staff at the restaurant said Robert would come every morning and get his usual breakfast order of black coffee, pancakes, and the #2 omelet with spinach, but with no bell peppers because that gave him heartburn.
He sat at the same counter seat every morning, reading his newspaper, joking with the regulars, and making small talk.
Robert did volunteer maintenance at First Assembly of God, a Fairfield church, where he also led the men’s ministry and a program for young men.
“If there was a need he saw at the church, he met it,” Pastor Eric Lura told San Francisco Chronicle.“He was the first person to arrive and last to leave.”
Teresa said, “He’s my hero. He’ll always be my hero for life.”
A GoFundMe page was started for Robert and if you’d like to donate to his family to help pay for his funeral, you can do so by clicking here.