A gas station clerk in Auburn, Washington was left fighting for his life after he collapsed during a confrontation with two teenage thieves, said police.
The Auburn Police Department released surveillance video on their Facebook account on Sept. 10 to help locate the two teenagers and an older man in the store during the incident.
In an update on Sept. 12, the department said all three subjects in the video had been identified, and the older man had been located and was cooperating with police. However, they are still looking for the teens.
At around 5:40 p.m. on Sept. 8, the adult and two teenage males entered the Shell gas station at 201 Auburn Way South, where Zarif Kelada, a father of three with a stay-at-home wife, was working as a clerk.
“One of the teenagers grab[s] what appears to be a pepperoni stick from the counter and starts to eat it,” said Auburn police in a Facebook post.
“He grabs a second one and gives it to the other teenager. The adult male then comes to the counter to purchase an item. It appears that the clerk attempts to charge the adult for the pepperoni sticks and an argument ensues. The clerk was given a dollar bill from one of the teenagers.”
A gas station clerk confronts two teens in Auburn, Wash. on Sept. 8, 2018. Screenshot/Auburn Police Department
Kelada at one point walked over and confronted the teenagers before he turned around and headed back toward the register.
All of a sudden, Kelada lost his balance, hit a water bottle rack, and collapsed on the floor.
At first, one of the teenagers started to run away, but came to a stop realizing Kelada was unresponsive.
A man and two teenagers look at a store clerk who collapsed on the floor in Auburn, Wash. on Sept. 8, 2018. (Screenshot/Auburn Police Department).
He bent over and took back the dollar from Kelada, then tried to open the cash register without success. He then jumped over the counter, grabbed some items, jumped over the counter again and fled the scene after the other two subjects had already left the store.
Later the same teenager came back, walked over Kelada who was still lying on the floor, tried to open the register again in vain, and took more items before he walked away over Kelada for the second time.
Finally the other teenager came in, jumped over the counter, and successfully opened the register. He took all the cash inside it.
None of the three subjects called for any medical help for Kelada.
Two teenagers rob a store and another man walks away while a store clerk lies unconscious on the floor in Auburn, Wash. on Sept. 8, 2018. Screenshot/Auburn Police Department
“Approx. 3 minutes later a subject entered the store and saw the clerk on the ground and immediately called 911,” police wrote.
It turned out that Kelada had a heart attack that afternoon. He was sent to a local hospital in critical condition, and he’s still there on life support.
His co-workers later set up a GoFundMe page to help with his medical bills. It’s a trending campaign that raised $22,447 out of a $10,000 goal in one day.
Teens Rob Gas Station and Leave Clerk, Father of 3, to Die
A gas station clerk in Auburn, Washington was left fighting for his life after he collapsed during a confrontation with two teenage thieves, said police.
In an update on Sept. 12, the department said all three subjects in the video had been identified, and the older man had been located and was cooperating with police. However, they are still looking for the teens.
At around 5:40 p.m. on Sept. 8, the adult and two teenage males entered the Shell gas station at 201 Auburn Way South, where Zarif Kelada, a father of three with a stay-at-home wife, was working as a clerk.
“One of the teenagers grab[s] what appears to be a pepperoni stick from the counter and starts to eat it,” said Auburn police in a Facebook post.
“He grabs a second one and gives it to the other teenager. The adult male then comes to the counter to purchase an item. It appears that the clerk attempts to charge the adult for the pepperoni sticks and an argument ensues. The clerk was given a dollar bill from one of the teenagers.”
Kelada at one point walked over and confronted the teenagers before he turned around and headed back toward the register.
All of a sudden, Kelada lost his balance, hit a water bottle rack, and collapsed on the floor.
At first, one of the teenagers started to run away, but came to a stop realizing Kelada was unresponsive.
He bent over and took back the dollar from Kelada, then tried to open the cash register without success. He then jumped over the counter, grabbed some items, jumped over the counter again and fled the scene after the other two subjects had already left the store.
Later the same teenager came back, walked over Kelada who was still lying on the floor, tried to open the register again in vain, and took more items before he walked away over Kelada for the second time.
Finally the other teenager came in, jumped over the counter, and successfully opened the register. He took all the cash inside it.
None of the three subjects called for any medical help for Kelada.
“Approx. 3 minutes later a subject entered the store and saw the clerk on the ground and immediately called 911,” police wrote.
It turned out that Kelada had a heart attack that afternoon. He was sent to a local hospital in critical condition, and he’s still there on life support.
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