Photo: PhotoAlto/James Hardy / PhotoAlto Agency RF Collections / Getty Images
A Detroit gas station clerk is being praised for his quick action after helping rescue a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint on Monday morning. The incident began in Hamtramck, Michigan, where the teen, a student at Frontier International Academy, was abducted while walking to her school bus stop just after 7 a.m.
The suspect, who police say did not know the girl, drove her to a Sunoco gas station at Nevada Street and Conant in Detroit about 30 minutes later. Inside the store, clerk Abdulrahman Abohatem noticed something was off when the man told the girl to pay for cigarettes.
"When he ask her to pay for the cigarettes, I stop and go there's something wrong," Abohatem told WXYZ. He said the girl mouthed the word "help" to him. Acting quickly, the clerk left his protective glass, confronted the man, and led the girl to safety behind him.
While Abohatem was getting the suspect out of the store, Hamtramck police arrived in the parking lot, thanks in part to fellow students who had helped officers track the girl's phone location. "I see the police outside. I point to him. I go that's the guy," Abohatem explained.
Officers arrested the suspect at the scene and recovered a weapon. Hamtramck Mayor Adam Alharbi said the individual has a history of rape charges. The girl's family says she is now safe at home and grateful for the support from the community.
More details about the suspect are expected to be released after his arraignment in the coming days. The police credited fast-acting witnesses, including the gas station clerk and the girl's classmates, for helping resolve the situation quickly.