Chinese professor says he used kung fu on trip to LA to beat off an armed robber wielding a gun
- Just hours after arriving in LA a visiting academic fended off an armed attacker using kung fu, he says
- Many of the man’s colleagues had no idea the professor knew the martial art
A Chinese professor’s account of using kung fu to beat off an armed robber on the street in Los Angeles has gone viral, in a case reported widely by local news outlets.
Zhou Pigai, from School of Public Administration of Xiangtan University in central Hunan province, reported the attack in which he lost his suitcase but emerged relatively unhurt to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the Hunan-based Xiaoxiang Morning Post reported.
State-run Chinese newspaper China Daily cited an investigative report from the LAPD as revealing that Zhou had lost an estimated US$3,130 of personal belongings.
Zhou later re-enacted the incident with the help of locals in a video, which China Daily reported was originally intended to help with police investigations and for public safety education, but was shared online and trended on Chinese social media.
Zhou did not immediately respond to the South China Morning Post’s request for comment. A spokesperson for the LAPD confirmed the incident had taken place but did not provide further details.
Zhou was in LA to start a visiting scholarship life at University of Southern California (USC), according to local media reports. On the afternoon of November 1, just hours after Zhou arrived in the city, he was looking for a hotel in an alleyway when a man dressed in black and wearing a black mask pointed a gun at his head, reports said.