DETROIT – After a gas station clerk was stabbed by a man trying to shoplift a box of candy bars, one clerk is coming forward to share his own story from 2017 as a warning to others.
MORE: Video shows stabbing of River Rouge gas station clerk by man trying to steal candy bar
“It’s a dangerous job, yes it is,” Tarek Salah said.
That’s really the only way Salah describes working at a gas station. Salah was working at a Sunoco gas station on Greenfield Road in 2017 when a customer started yelling and demanding free stuff.
The suspect left but returned later while Salah was outside talking to his friend.
"I thought it was over with and come to find out, he snuck up from behind me. He was saying, 'What’s up, what’s up?' I saw something chrome, and I instantly knew that was a knife or a gun. That’s when I reacted,” Salah said.
Video showed Salah punching the suspect multiple times. They both fell on the ground. That’s when he was able to grab the gun.
“I just wanted to show people to be aware and not to come out from behind the counter. Many things can happen. Just stay behind the counter, call the cops, try to de-escalate it as much as possible, but don’t come out from behind that counter,” Salah said.
That’s the message he wanted to share with other clerks, after hearing multiple stories about customers attacking gas station employees. He said it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
“I got lucky, real lucky. You know?” Salah said.