Three armed muggers got more than they bargained for when they held up a tour bus full of American senior citizens in a coastal town in Costa Rica.
One of the tourists - a retired member of the US military - put one of the gunmen in a headlock and killed him.
The mugger's armed accomplices fled when other tourists also fought back, officials in the town of Limon said.
The tourists were not charged with any offence as they acted in self-defence, Limon police chief Luis Hernandez said.
"They were in their right to defend themselves after being held up," he said.
Warner Segura, 20, died instantly from a broken neck during the incident.
The tourists - who were on a day trip during a Caribbean cruise - reported the incident to local police and took Mr Segura's body to the Red Cross, where he was pronounced dead.
Police questioned the 12 retired Americans and they returned to their cruise ship, which was delayed by the incident.
The tourists had organised an unscheduled tour of a Limon beach with a local van driver when the attack occurred, cruise company Carnival Cruises said.
"The victims struggled with the armed perpetrator and were able to disarm him... in the course of disarming and restraining the assailant, he died from apparent asphyxiation," the company said.
The 12 senior citizens were on an eight-day western Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Liberty that left Florida on February 17.
All of them have decided to continue on the cruise after the Costa Rican incident.