Last week, news surfaced that Tottenham Hotspur defender Emerson Royal had been a victim of a robbery and assault in his native Brazil. The Spurs defender was on vacation for a few days in São Paulo when the incident occurred at a nightclub.
Royal was with several friends and family and had posed for a photo with an off-duty police officer and was involved in a shootout that allegedly rang out as many as 29 shots.
Now that a couple of days have gone by, the 23-year-old spoke with the Brazilian media outlet Globo Esporte (via AS) to discuss what happened that night.
Royal narrated everything he experienced during an episode that didn’t result in him losing his life. The Spurs defender detailed what occurred before the shooting took place.
“At that time, God controlled me in some way because I felt that nothing was happening. I approached the thief saying, ‘calm down, calm down, I’ll give you whatever you want,’” Royal said.
“When I give him what he wants, I walk over to him because I had already seen the evil look on his face. I saw that he wasn’t there just because of the clock.”
He then detailed what transpired next when Royal handed the thief his watch, resulting in gunshots being fired. Furthermore, the defender states that the thief didn’t approach him with any simple gun, leading him to have a fear for his life.
“When I handed it to him, he walked away and drew his gun to shoot me. When he was about to do it, I pushed him, hit the gun, and he fired into the air. It was at that moment, when I pushed him, that he lost his balance and the policeman shot him. When he hits the shot, the burst begins,” Royal said.
“He had a weapon that was a 9 mm, semi-automatic, a weapon that is not normal for a thief or for a policeman. Then I understood that he could die, that it could cost me my life. But it served as a lesson for me to be careful in various situations. I am calm now.”
