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VIDEO: Cyclist catches terrifying robbery on GoPro

ByLA Blake KGO logo

Friday, September 19, 2014

When a man first tries to cut off Alex Hennessy when he and friends are biking through Buenos Aires, he laughs it off and keeps riding.

But the man catches up to him again and pulls out a gun.

Hennessy gets off his bike, offering it to the robber and explaining that he doesn't understand what the robber is asking for.

Hennessy puts his hand on the robber's chest, trying to calm him by repeating, ''Amigo, amigo.''

When the robber lowers his gun, Hennessy uses that opportunity to get away.

As he and his friends seek out an officer, Hennessy discovers he caugt the whole thing on camera.

VIDEO: Cyclist catches terrifying robbery on GoProWhen a man first tries to cut off Alex Hennessy when he and friends are biking through Buenos Aires, he laughs it off and keeps riding.

Photo/YouTube, Mike Graziano

A video trending on YouTube shows a tourist using a GoPro biking through Buenos Aires, Argentina when a man on a motorcycle confronts him, screaming in Spanish. At first the tourist brushes it off, laughing, but when the would-be robber pulls out a gun, things get tense.

Tap to watch if you're viewing on the news app.

Fortunately the tourist was able to get away without his camera being stolen, and at the end of the video he and his friends find help.

Mike Graziano, who posted the video, and friend Alexander Hennessy are traveling to 195 countries in an adventure that they call getting their "Global Degree," and documenting their adventures on Facebook. Their post on Tuesday about the robbery said that Hennessy is the one who is robbed in the video and that they were told that the police used the video to arrest the robber later that day.

Hennessy said in a reddit thread that he had forgotten the camera was on his head and recording, and he was ecstatic when he realized that he had that evidence. He also explained some of his actions on that thread, saying he knew the robber was likely after the camera gear strapped to his backpack, but he was playing dumb in order to confuse the robber.

Many of the comments on the Facebook page are apologies, and posters are saying that they hope this video will not be thought of as a representation of all of Argentina. Graziano and Hennessy posted on Wednesday to say that, despite the robbery, they still love Argentina.