70-year-old woman requires 11 stitches after fighting men trying to rob her small ice cream shop

Sharon Brown ran her little ice-cream shop in downtown Penticton, B.C., peacefully for eight years — until last week.

While Brown prepped for the day at 6:20 a.m. Wednesday at Ogo's Ice Cream store, two men broke in with a hammer and a screwdriver, demanding she open the cash register.

"When I first saw them, I thought it was the kids playing a joke on me," Brown, 70, said Monday to Sarah Penton, the host of CBC's Radio West. "It didn't even occur to me that it would be a robbery."

According to Penticton RCMP, both male suspects donned black masks. The first one wore a grey hoodie, grey sweat pants and white high-top runner shoes, while the second one wore a black sweatshirt.

Violent armed robbery

Brown says she has lived in the South Okanagan city for more than 40 years, but never encountered a violent incident in her neighbourhood and at her business.

"I was screaming and kicking and trying to get the hammer from them, and they kept pushing me forward towards the chair so that they could get the money.

"I'm still trying to fight them off because I'm determined that they're not going to get my hard-earned money, which is probably stupid to do. But I did it, and then one guy hit me with a hammer," she said.

Brown required 11 stitches and was left with several bruises on her arm — injuries police say were not life-threatening and that were treated at the scene by paramedics.

The robbers couldn't pry open the till, so they took the whole till away, Brown added.

"He took my phone and I said, 'Please don't take my phone because I have all my business stuff in there.' And he just said, 'I won't.' And he put it down near the back [door], so I had to run to get the phone."

The Mounties say multiple officers arrived soon after.

Brown says she's thankful for the overwhelming support of her neighbours.

"The community has been absolutely amazing — from customers bringing flowers, giving donations … local restaurants have donated money."

She says a nearby business helped her install a security system at her store on Friday.

Penticton RCMP say there was heavy pedestrian traffic around Ogo's Ice Cream at the time of the robbery.

They're asking anyone with relevant information about the incident to contact RCMP at 250-492-4300 or, to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.