Usually it’s the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun, but sometimes it happens to be a bad girl with a knife. A diner pulling up to the drive-through at Arby’s in Vernal, Utah, noticed something was amiss. His quick actions may have saved some lives.

A man with a concealed weapons permit stopped the armed robbery of a Vernal restaurant Sunday, according to police.

A woman armed with a knife entered Arby’s, 1141 W. Hwy 40, just before noon and demanded money, Assistant Vernal Police Chief Keith Campbell said.

An Arby’s customer, who spoke to the Deseret News on the condition that his name not be used, said he was ordering food at the drive-thru about the same time and noticed the restaurant employee had stopped responding to him.

The man said he parked his truck and went into the restaurant to finish his order. He said when he made eye contact with an employee, she mouthed the words, “We’re being robbed.”

“I went out to my truck and got my gun,” the man said.

This guy went above and beyond the call in terms of avoiding violence. Upon returning to the restaurant he confronted the deranged robber and ordered her to cease and desist. In the initial encounter – probably hoping that the woman was aware of the rule about not bringing a knife to a gunfight – he didn’t even draw his weapon. He just showed her the butt of the weapon. Rather than complying, she she kept her knife and approached him, causing him to then draw his weapon.

Even then, with every justification to take the shot, he chose to grab her arm and take away the knife. When police arrived he set down his weapon and gave them all the details as they took her into custody.

The guy didn’t have to be that careful about preserving the life and health of the robber, but chose to do so and the situation was defused without a shot being fired. But you have to wonder if he would have fared as well if he were facing down a drug addled criminal unarmed. Well done all around, I say, and yet another lesson about how a good guy (or gal) with a gun can hold back the tide of violence and just possibly make other criminals think twice.

As a disclaimer, I will note that I am a big fan of Arby’s. I follow them on twitter and wind up eating their food fairly often. (The fact that Jon Stewart abuses them mercilessly probably just makes me like them all the more.) I can even give a thumbs up to their Horsey Sauce, though I grow my own horseradish. This is not related to this story and they don’t compensate me in any way.