HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (WXYZ) — A 16-year-old girl is safe after being abducted at gunpoint while walking to her school bus stop in Hamtramck, thanks to the quick actions of a Detroit gas station clerk, fellow students and police.
The kidnapping happened just after 7 a.m. near Edwin and Brombach in Hamtramck streets. The girl, a student at Frontier International Academy, was waiting for her school bus. Hamtramck Police Department Chief Hussein Farhat said the two did not know each other.
Watch Brett Kast's video report below:
"This is a random incident. This suspect could have driven anywhere, saw the opportunity and took advantage of it," Farhat said.
Previous report: Hamtramck student kidnapped from bus stop at gunpoint; suspect later arrested
Roughly 30 minutes later, around 7:30 a.m., the suspect brought the girl into a Sunoco gas station at the corner of Nevada Street and Conant in Detroit. The suspect asked for cigarettes and told the girl to pay for them.
"When he ask her to pay for the cigarettes, I stop and go there's something wrong. And she mouthed talked to me, like with no sound, 'help,'" store clerk Abdulrahman Abohatem said.
Abohatem came out from behind the protective glass, confronted the man and ushered the girl to safety.
"I go out, I kick him out, I ask the girl go behind me," Abohatem said.
See bodycam and surveillance video of the arrest below
According to the school board president, Fellow students who witnessed the kidnapping helped police track the girl's phone location. As Abohatem was escorting the man out of the store, police pulled into the parking lot.
"I see the police outside. I point to him. I go that's the guy," Abohatem said.
The suspect was quickly taken into custody. City of Hamtramck Mayor Adam Alharbi noted the suspect's criminal background.
"It's a criminal who had a history of rape charges, and we will make sure he gets what he deserves," Alharbi said.
Officials provide details about the incident below:
The girl's family said she is safe at home processing the incident and is thankful the community stepped up. More details about the suspect are expected to be released once he is arraigned in the near future.
"I feel good when you save somebody. Sixteen years old — she is child," Abohatem said.
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