Authorities are investigating an armed robbery attempt that occurred Wednesday evening, Oct. 24, in which two men invaded of home of an elderly man on Gale Street in downtown Ringgold.

According to the Ringgold Police Department, the incident took place about 6:45 p.m. Two armed intruders in their early 20s entered the home of a 70-year-old man while he was sitting on his couch watching television.

During the incident, the victim was able to ward off the offenders with relative ease.

"The victim stated that he was sitting on the couch when two Hispanic males entered his house via the front door that was closed, but not locked," officer Tom Evans said. "He stated that the two men approached him from both sides, and that both were armed with knives."

The victim informed police that as the duo continued to move closer to him, one of the men repeatedly asked "where are the pills," after he used his knife to cut the victim’s nearby telephone line.

"The victim replied to the offenders that he didn't have any pills," Evans said. "He (the victim) said that he then moved forward on the couch seat."

While the intruder kept insisting on information about possible pills in the house, the victim reached under the sofa and offered up his own solution to the problem by stating "How about I blow your heads off?"

At that time, the victim says, the two suspects ran out of the house and fled the scene, and were seen driving off in a white or silver-colored passenger vehicle.

A nearby neighbor didn't see the entire incident occur but did inform police that he saw the men fleeing the residence.

"The witness stated that he had walked out on to his porch to smoke and his attention was alerted when he heard a door slam," Evans said. "The witness saw the two men running out of the house and jump off the porch."

The witness added that the men both lost their balance and fell during their getaway, with one falling on the ground and the other falling against the vehicle amidst the panic.

"Due to the distance between the victim's house and the witness, he (the witness) could only clarify that the offenders were males in their early 20s," Evans said.

The victim stated that one of the men was wearing a white baseball cap, while the other man had very short brown hair, and that the men were last seen driving away on Emberson Drive towards the Ringgold swimming pool.

According to police chief Dan Bilbrey, the victim's ability to turn the tables on the offenders by diffusing the situation was pretty impressive.

"In this case it potentially deterred a violent crime from taking place," Bilbrey said. "This a great example of a law-abiding citizen defending themselves."

Anyone with information regarding the case or the suspects is encouraged to contact the Ringgold Police De-partment at 706-935-3066.