He's the internet's hero in a cowboy hat for taking the gun away, but who is he?
The internet declared him a hero after security footage at a butcher's shop/convenience store in Monterrey, Mexico spread like wildfire Wednesday.
The original, on Carnes Cares' Facebook page, had been viewed more than 135,000 times as of Wednesday afternoon.
Many more people — there's no way to know for sure the number— have watched the video showing the mysterious middle-aged man pounce, right at the moment the young would-be gunslinger drops his guard and looks away.
He's been called a "Hero Cowboy," or simply "the man in the cowboy hat." Some, even Mexican publications, have erroneously called him a customer of the store, probably because he was standing on the opposite side of the counter from a cash register when the suspect walks into the store.
He's not any of those things, says his son, Daniel Cardenas, who works at the store but who was at the bank at the time of the attempted robbery on Monday.
The "Hero Cowboy" is the owner of Carnes Cares, which has been in business in Monterrey for 11 years. His name is Reynaldo Cardenas, and he's 53.
Both Daniel and his father Reynaldo seem to be taking their dose of viral fame in stride. You'd think having to thwart a robbery attempt at your own store would be a pretty jarring experience, but Daniel said he wasn't scared for his father at all as he watched the tape for the first time.
"Fear? no," Daniel told the Star-Telegram. "It gave me courage to see him do what he did. Strength in knowing this is our place, and we don't let people take from us."
In the video, Reynaldo appears to comply with the orders of the attacker, who looks like he's less than half Reynaldo's age. When the man with the gun thinks he's subdued Reynaldo and turns his attention to a customer in the store, Reynaldo springs into action.
He swipes downward on the gunman's hand and knocks the gun out, before two of his employees run over to help. One grabs the gun off the floor while the other helps wrestle the robber into submission.
But it was Reynaldo Cardenas, 53, who stared down the barrel of the gun and didn't blink.
This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 5:27 PM with the headline "He's the internet's hero in a cowboy hat for taking the gun away, but who is he?."