A Michigan gas station clerk is being praised as a hero after assisting police with the rescue of a 16-year-old girl kidnapped by an armed man — when she mouthed “help” to him.
According to Hamtramck Police Chief Hussein Farhat, who told WXYZ the suspect took the teen at gunpoint around 7: 05 a.m. Monday just outside her school bus stop in Hamtramck. The kidnapping crime happened shortly before 7 a.m. on Thursday in Hamtramck near Edwin and Brombach streets. The girl was waiting for her school bus. Police say she attends Frontier International Academy * an ethnically diverse charter school. Hamtramck Chief of Police Hussein Farhat said the suspect did not know the girl.
Gas station clerk speaks out after foiling alleged kidnapping in Michigan https://t.co/1jsQGsqABV
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) April 16, 2026
At about 7: 30 a.m., he drove her to a Sunoco gas station in Detroit on Nevada Street and Conant. After entering the store, he asked for cigarettes and told the girl to buy them. The Michigan gas station kidnapper reportedly brought the girl into a Sunoco gas station, where he requested cigarettes and instructed the visibly shaken teen to pay.
A Michigan gas station clerk is speaking out after foiling an alleged kidnapping of a 16-year-old girl.
The teen had allegedly been abducted from a bus stop a block from her home. https://t.co/uiEF0kVmKy pic.twitter.com/UaptaRMYQ2
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) April 16, 2026
That moment is when clerk Abdulrahman Abohatem realized something wasn’t right. “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,’” Abohatem told the outlet.
Acting without hesitation, Abohatem stepped out from behind the protective barrier, confronted the suspect, forced him out of the store, and quickly guided the frightened teenager to safety behind the counter.
“I go out, I kick him out, I ask the girl [to] go behind me,” Abohatem said, describing the tense moments inside the store.
At the same time, students who saw the abduction had already alerted authorities and helped police trace the girl’s phone, prompting officers to converge on the gas station parking lot just as Abohatem was escorting the suspect outside, according to reports.
“I see the police outside. I point to him. I go, ‘That’s the guy,’” Abohatem added.
Police were able to quickly locate and arrest the Michigan gas station abduction suspect. Police also stated that the teen was not acquainted with the man. “This was a random act. This suspect could have driven anywhere, saw the opportunity and took advantage of it,” Farhat explained, according to a Detroit News report.
Hamtramck Mayor Adam Alharbi highlighted the suspect’s criminal history: “He’s a criminal who had r-pe charges brought against him in the past. And we will ensure that he gets what’s coming to him.” The city is located approximately five miles from downtown Detroit. It is reportedly the first city in the United States with a Muslim-majority city council. It is a rapidly growing immigrant city with the population being roughly 70 percent Muslim.
The family of the Michigan gas station abduction victim announced she has returned home and is recovering. They thanked citizens who assisted in getting her home.
Reflecting on his actions, Abohatem said, “I feel good when you save somebody. Sixteen years old — she is child.”
The Michigan gas station abduction suspect is expected to be arraigned today.
Michigan Gas Station Clerk Saves Girls After She Mouthed ‘Help’ During Abduction
