A Youngstown teen is being recognized for his calm and quick response to a robbery at his lemonade stand.
14-year-old Michal Miller was manning his lemonade and snack stand like he does almost every day when another teen approached with a gun and took off with a box of money and Millers backpack.
Miller remembers the whirlwind of emotions during the moments it happened.
“I was very mad at first, then I was confused,” Miller said. “Their was different things going through my head but I decided not to retaliate.”
Miller instead called 911 and let police handle the situation. The suspect was caught a short time later. Leaders said that Miller not reacting with violence was the right path.
“He showed that in times of adversity, that courage can overcome but again we say you don't overcome evil with evil you overcome evil with good,” Guy Burney, with the community initiative to reduce violence in Youngstown said.
“It’s refreshing and it says to me that there are good people out there that we don't even know about doing good things,” Herb Washington, a community member said.
For choosing the right response, Washington presented the teen with a $1,000 check.
“If a 14-year-old can make that decision can’t we as adults and we as a community come together with our difference of opinion and through conflict resolution find a happy medium to go forward,” Washington said.
Miller said he never got all the cash back that was stolen from him but is using the situation as a learning experience.
“I just use it as motivation to tell me to keep going,” Miller said. “I might help other people start doing this like younger kids.”
Miller was back at his same spot the day after the robbery selling snacks and lemonade again. He can be found on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Redondo Road almost every day in the early mornings and early afternoons.
The teen suspect was transported to the Juvenile Justice Center and was charged with aggravated robbery.