Gas station worker saves girl, 16, being abducted at gunpoint after she quietly mouthed ‘help’

A brave gas station clerk revealed that he saved a teenager after she was kidnapped at gunpoint on Monday (April 13).

Local police recalled that it took place just after 7AM in Hamtramck, while the 16-year-old was waiting for her school bus.

Michigan-based store clerk Abdulrahman Abohatem sensed something was off when the girl paid for cigarettes at a Sunoco gas station.

Teenager kidnapped by stranger

Hamtramck Police Department Chief Hussein Farhat told WXYZ that the teenage girl was abducted by a stranger with a history of rape allegations, who was holding a gun.

Farhat said that the two did not know each other, explaining: "This is a random incident. This suspect could have driven anywhere, saw the opportunity and took advantage of it."

While this happened around 7AM, around 30 minutes later, the suspect brought the girl to a gas station and after asking for cigarettes, he asked the scared teenager to pay for them.

Gas station store clerk saves teen

Abohatem told the local news outlet: "When he asks her to pay for the cigarettes, I stop and go, there’s something wrong. And she mouthed to me, like with no sound, ‘help,'."

The clerk then came from behind the store's protective glass to confront the suspect, kicking him out of the store and getting the kidnapped victim to stand behind him.

“I go out, I kick him out, I ask the girl [to] go behind me,” he explained.

Soon though, with the help of her fellow students who saw her being kidnapped, police were able to track her phone's location.

Police cars then reached the gas station's parking lot as the suspect was escorted out of the store.

“I see the police outside. I point to him. I go, ‘that’s the guy’,” Abohatem said.

The clerk admitted: “I feel good when you save somebody. Sixteen years old — she is a child.”

Suspect's history of criminal charges

The suspect was swiftly taken into custody, as City of Hamtramck Mayor Adam Alharbi pointed out the suspect's criminal background.

Alharbi explained: "It's a criminal who had a history of rape charges, and we will make sure he gets what he deserves."

The teenager's family revealed that she is now safe at home, processing the incident, while being thankful to the community for helping save her.

More information about the suspect are expected to be released when he appears in court for the first time, which has been set for Thursday.

Featured image credit: WXYZ